A rejuvenated Hubble is in operation

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency Wednesday released the first images taken by the upgraded Hubble Space Telescope, calling Hubble a fully rejuvenated observatory.

The images -- presented at NASA headquarters in Washington by U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. -- came from four of the telescope's six operating science instruments.

"Topping the list of new views are colorful, multi-wavelength pictures of far-flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster, an eerie 'pillar of creation' and a 'butterfly' nebula," NASA said in a statement, noting Hubble's suite of new instruments allows it to study the universe across a wide swath of the light spectrum, from ultraviolet to near-infrared.

The space agency said Hubble's new instruments are also more sensitive to light and, therefore, will significantly improve its observing efficiency and allow it to complete observations in a fraction of the time that was needed with prior generations of instruments.

Mikulski, chairwoman of the Senate's Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, said: "I fought for the Hubble repair mission because Hubble is the people's telescope. I also fought for Hubble because it constantly rewrites the science textbooks. It has more discoveries than any other science mission. Hubble is our greatest example of our astronauts working together with scientists to show American leadership and ingenuity."

The Hubble images are available at http://www.nasa.gov/hubble.