The Telescope

he Hubble Space Telescope's five science instruments — its cameras, spectrographs, and fine guidance sensors — work either together or individually to bring us stunning images from the farthest reaches of space. Each instrument was designed to observe the universe in a unique way.

 SAMPLE IMAGES

Partially Inactive:
The Advanced Camera for Surveys was installed in March 2002 and was expected to last approximately five years. In January 2007, an electrical short put much of the camera out of commission. Currently only the part of the camera used to study ultraviolet light emissions from stars or on other planets in our solar system is functioning. Before the short, ACS was also able to conduct surveys of the universe and study the nature and distribution of galaxies.

The Wide Field and Planetary Camera is the "workhorse" instrument behind nearly all of the most famous Hubble pictures. As Hubble's main camera, it is used to observe just about everything. See just two of its many images at right.

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Eagle Nebula

Spiral Galaxy NGC 4414 

The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer is Hubble's heat sensor. Its sensitivity to infrared light makes it useful for observing objects obscured by interstellar gas and dust (such as stellar birthsites and planetary atmospheres) and for peering into deepest space.

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Inactive since 2004:
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph was a versatile instrument that acted somewhat like a prism, separating light from the cosmos into its component colors, as shown at right. It experienced a power failure in 2004 but could be repaired during a future servicing mission.

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The Fine Guidance Sensors are targeting devices that lock onto "guide stars" and measure their positions relative to the object being viewed. Adjustments based on these precise readings keep Hubble pointed in the right direction. The sensors also are used to perform celestial measurements.

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The Fine
Guidance
Sensors
don't take
images.

Removed in 2002: The Faint Object Camera was Hubble's telephoto lens, recording detailed images over a small field of view. This instrument was replaced by the Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2002.

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 Betelgeuse