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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Hubble's Millionth Observation

Hubble's Millionth Observation
Hubble's Millionth Observation NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reached its millionth science observation on July 4, 2011, during a search for water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet (a planet outside our solar system) 1,000 light-years away.

This is an artist's concept of that planet, HAT-P-7b. It is a "hot Jupiter" class planet orbiting a star that is much hotter than our sun. Hubble Space Telescope's millionth science observation was trained on this planet to look for the presence of water vapor and to study the planet's atmosphere.

NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)