Hubble humbled by power failure

The main camera aboard the Hubble Space Telescope has stopped functioning due to a short circuit, NASA announced Monday.

The Advanced Camera for Surveys, installed on the Hubble in March 2002, is considered the Hubble's "workhorse," according to Dave Leckrone, the senior project scientist on the Hubble Space Telescope.

About the size of a public phone booth, the scientific instrument consists of filters and dispersers that can sense wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared on the light spectrum, and three electronic cameras.

The Hubble will still be able to function, but until a new camera is installed in 2008, the images will not be as far reaching.

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