NASA releases stunning photos of planets, far-flung galaxies to mark Hubble anniversary

On April 24, 1990, all 24,000 pounds of the Hubble Space Telescope were tucked away inside the Discovery space shuttle when it launched into space. Thirty-five years later, NASA says Hubble has proven to have "opened a new window to the universe," with more than 1.6 million observations to date filled with compelling and surprising images of galaxies, planets and our own solar system. 

To celebrate the anniversary milestone, NASA has released stunning photos taken by the telescope in its decades among the stars. 

Among them is an image of Mars, taken 61 million miles from Earth.