Spitzer Space Telescope: NASA shuts down prolific observatory

Spitzer contributed to advancing human knowledge of black holes and the birth and death of stars.

After 16 years, NASA has decommissioned its Spitzer Space Telescope which has helped paint a more complete picture of the universe.

It was one of four observatories circling the Earth, transmitting information about our galaxy and others beyond.

It will be left now to hibernate among the stars which it once studied.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Washington, DC.