Hollywood (ECN) - It has been confirmed that the Hubble space telescope has managed to complete 100,000 orbits.

U.S. astronomers have confirmed as of Monday, that the Hubble space telescope has reached the major milestone.

The Hubble space telescope is now in its 18th year of exploration, and is located 170,000 light years from Earth.

NASA stated that "The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion."

The Hubble space telescope has been named as the greatest scientific instrument since the Galileo telescope, and has now made 100,000 orbits around the Earth.

NASA expects the telescope to continue operation through 2013, as NASA will carry out their final service mission in October.