Hubble Space Telescope images provide out of this world holiday cards

Your children can say, “Season’s Greetings” this year by printing out their very own free holiday cards while getting a bird’s eye view of the universe, and a fabulous science lesson at the same time from the good folks at Hubblesite.

Hubblesite is the home for all things about the Hubble Space Telescope, the world’s first space-based optical telescope named by NASA to honor American astronomer, Edwin P. Hubble (1889-1953), the man whose decade-long observations of our ever-expanding universe provided “Hubble’s Law,” the foundation for the “Big Bang” model of creation.

In addition to the free and unique holiday cards, children can further explore the Hubble web site and download magnificent wallpapers, tour the Hubble gallery seeing all the planets, stars, nebulae and galaxies that Hubble has captured with its lenses, get their own Hubble photos in three easy steps through the Hubble Print Shop, and even stop by Hubble’s Movie Theater where they can view a series of short videos that provide glimpses into Hubble's activities, discoveries and science, plus lots more fun-filled activities to spark the inquisitiveness of any junior astronomer.

Probably one of the best scientific exploration investments ever made, the Hubble was launched from the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, and was targeted for a 20-year visual discovery mission, orbiting the Earth at a low altitude of 380 statute miles every 97 minutes, and at a speed of 17,500 mph.

Faster than you can say “crab nebula,” children can also see snapshots of the Hubble Space Telescope in flight, and learn about Hubble’s “ground crew” - the people who make it all happen.