The Postal Service issued a 33-cent Edwin Powell Hubble commemorative pane of five stamp images in Greenbelt, Maryland, on April 10, 2000. The stamps, designed by Phil Jordan of Falls Church, Virginia, went on sale nationwide April 10, 2000.
This stamp pane pays tribute to Edwin Powell Hubble and the Hubble Space Telescope, which was named in his honor. The five stamp images -- Eagle Nebula, Ring Nebula, Lagoon Nebula, Egg Nebula, and Galaxy NGC 1316 -- were captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, which started operating in April 1990.
Hubble (1889-1953) was an eminent American astronomer whose work furthered understanding of the universe. Hubble determined that galaxies exist outside of and are receding from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and demonstrated that the universe is expanding. He was instrumental in the building of Palomar Observatory, and he conducted his research there when it was completed.
Sennett Security Products printed 105.350 million stamps in the gravure process.
