WASHINGTON (September 9, 2009)--The refurbished Hubble Space Telescope is giving researchers on Earth the sharpest photos yet of cosmic beauty, complete with heavenly glows.

On Wednesday, NASA unveiled the first deep space photos taken by Hubble since its $1 billion repair mission last spring, which included installing two new cameras, other science instruments and replacing broken parts.

The images of galaxies and nebulas are sharper than previous photos taken of the same places by Hubble before the upgrade.

Some of the colorful images have brilliant glows of light that give them halos that to some people can appear heavenly.

"This marks a new beginning for Hubble," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"The telescope was given an extreme makeover and now is significantly more powerful than ever, well-equipped to last into the next decade."