LONDON, March 30 (UPI) -- A British astronomer has warned that the loss of the Hubble Space Telescope will rob astronomers of a view of the cosmos in the ultraviolet range.
Martin Barstow of the University of Leicester said no UV observing capability creates a gap in science's understanding of the universe, BBC News Online reported Tuesday.
Barstow is calling for a replacement to Hubble called the World Space Observatory.
Last month, Sean O'Keefe, NASA's administrator, announced he would not permit any more space shuttle repair missions to the Hubble, effectively condemning the orbiting telescope to a premature end.
Because it operates in space, Hubble is the only instrument able to observe in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Along with its main mirror, it carries detectors that are sensitive to UV radiation.
Hubble's successor, called the James Webb Space Telescope -- after a former NASA administrator -- will not be launched until at least 2011 and will not carry UV-observing capability.
