Generations

Massive support columns of the National Archives in Washington D.C. are lit by gas streamers from exploding supernovae in the Tarantula Nebula.

A hotbed of churning change, the rapid movement of gas and debris from these explosions are bombarding the quieter areas of the nebula and producing beds of new stars and a forecast of more turbulent times to come. (PRC1999-12: Hubble Heritage Team, AURA/STScI/NASA)

Home to the most important documents in the history of the United States of America, the National Archives building on Constitution Avenue was completed in 1937. It incorporates extensive safety measures to protect the helium-filled bronze tanks encasing the most  precious documents. Besides the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights is one of only four remaining copies of the British Magna Carta establishing the basic rights of individuals later incorporated into American democratic principles.

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