Cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope that produced the deepest-ever view of the universe have stopped working after a technical glitch that won’t be remedied until next year, NASA said Monday.
The advanced cameras for surveys, installed in 2002 and the newest and most high tech on the Hubble, shut down Saturday because of an electrical short, Preston Burch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Hubble program manager, told reporters in a conference call.
The cameras produced Ultra Deep Field images in 2003 and 2004 that showed multitudes of stars, including light from some that formed almost 13 billion years ago, or just after the “big bang” many scientists say created the universe.
While Hubble’s other cameras are still operating, the electrical problem means the most sought-after lenses in the astronomical community will be out of service until next year, Burch said. NASA vowed last year to upgrade the cameras during a space-shuttle mission in 2008.
