PHOTO QUIZ

September 2, 2009

sofia observatory space astronomy aircraft 747

A: The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

One of the biggest issues facing astronomical observatories on the ground is the Earth's atmosphere. Turbulence, clouds and atmospheric particles can obscure even the brightest cosmic objects. Therefore, astronomers have become experts in correcting for these frustrating obstacles.

Some observatories use sophisticated adaptive optics, where the mirror of the telescope changes shape the compensate for turbulence in the atmosphere. Another, more expensive method, is to avoid the atmosphere all together, blasting a space telescope into orbit. However, there is another way of avoiding most of the atmosphere without incurring the cost of launching the whole observatory into space.

NASA's SOFIA mission will be a heavily modified Boeing 747 with a 2.5 meter diameter infrared telescope installed in its fuselage, near the tail. Set for its first flight in early 2010, SOFIA will cruise at an altitude of between 39,000 and 45,000 feet at a speed of 520 mph. The telescope will be sensitive to infrared radiation.

SOFIA will assist the science of the large space telescope missions such as Hubble, Kuiper and Spitzer, looking at a range of targets from planetary observations to studying the cores of distant galaxies.

What makes SOFIA even more exciting is the fact that Discovery Space partner Lowell Observatory will have an instrument on the SOFIA flights. The Lowell Observatory's High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations (HIPO) will study distant stars as they pass behind Solar System bodies, using the points of light as probes to see the structure of planetary atmospheres.

For more information about SOFIA and HIPO, see the SOFIA mission site and the Lowell Observatory research program pages.

--Lowell Observatory/Ian O'Neill

Did you guess correctly? Want to test your wits some more? Check out the previous Space Photo Quiz!

Credit: NASA.