Astronomers unveiled the new Hubble photo today (April 21) to showcase what they billed as a "gigantic cosmic soap bubble" as Hubble nears the anniversary of its launch on April 24, 1990. Scientists also unveiled a spectacular video of the Bubble Nebula as seen by Hubble.

"The object, known as the Bubble Nebula, is, in fact, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the brilliant star within it," Hubble mission officials wrote in an image description. "The vivid new portrait of this dramatic scene wins the Bubble Nebula a place in the exclusive Hubble hall of fame, following an impressive lineage of Hubble anniversary images."

Also known as NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula is a so-called emission nebula located 8,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula was first discovered in 1787 by famed astronomer William Herschel, and scientists have used Hubble to photograph the object in the past. But those previous views showed only part of the vast nebula.