Astronomy is one of the most aesthetically pleasing of the pure sciences. It is no longer necessary to have a deep knowledge of physics to enjoy the science as a hobby, although it is certainly capable of inspiring an attempt to understand the science behind it.

In the past, artists' conceptions were the only image that most people had of celestial objects and the real images were fuzzy and indistinct, which made them less attractive to most. Affordable consumer telescopes were poorly made and difficult to use for all but the most dedicated of amateur scientists.

NASA has changed all of that, however. The images returned by successive missions have set the bar much higher and since the Hubble Space Telescope became operational, it has produced many stunning images that have revived the public's interest in space exploration to a great extent.