On Dec. 18, NASA for the first time opened the doors of its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy in flight. Test fligthts occured since 2007. The telescope is built into the tail end of a Boeing 747. The overall mission is named the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and flies above atmospheric water vapor that blocks most infrared light from ground observatories. The telescope is easier to maintain than the Spitzer or Hubble and costs significantly less. IT scans the widest range of light of any scope, from ultraviolet to the far infrared.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Aerospace, Astronomy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.