ASTRONOMY is the study of celestial bodies such as the planets, stars, asteroids as well as events such as eclipses and meteor showers.

Since ancient times, astronomy has given humans the opportunity to see the history of the universe with our own eyes.

While studying the wonders of space is generally reserved for astronomers and space scientists, there are two days every year that seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by giving the public access to astronomical instruments like telescopes.

Established in 1973 by the former president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California Doug Berger, Astronomy Day now occurs twice annually — on the Saturday closest to the first quarter Moon between April and May, and on the Saturday closest to the quarter moon between September and October.

This weekend marks the first Astronomy Day of 2016, so to celebrate we have compiled a gallery of the best images from NASA’s Hubble Telescope — a space telescope launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, remaining in operation since.

From a display of starlight, glowing gas, and silhouetted dark clouds of interstellar dust to a huge waves are sculpted in this two-lobed nebula some 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius, the results are breathtaking.