EARLY SCIENCE WITH SOFIA, THE STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED ASTRONOMY

Journal Article · Fri Apr 20 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/749/2/L17· OSTI ID:22047901

Young, E T; Becklin, E E; De Buizer, J M; Andersson, B -G; Casey, S C; Helton, L A ^[1]; Marcum, P M; Roellig, T L; Temi, P ^[2]; Herter, T L ^[3]; Guesten, R ^[4]; Dunham, E W ^[5]; Backman, D; Burgdorf, M ^[6]; Caroff, L J; Erickson, E F ^[7]; Davidson, J A ^[8]; Gehrz, R D ^[9]; Harper, D A ^[10]; Harvey, P M ^[11] ; others, and

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1. SOFIA Science Center, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 232, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
2. NASA Ames Research Center, MS 232, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
3. Astronomy Department, 202 Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6801 (United States)
4. Max-Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, Bonn (Germany)
5. Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff AZ 86001 (United States)
6. SOFIA Science Center, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 211-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
7. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
8. School of Physics, The University of Western Australia (M013), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia)
9. Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, 116 Church Street, S. E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)
10. Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 373 W. Geneva St., Williams Bay, WI (United States)
11. Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States)

The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne observatory consisting of a specially modified Boeing 747SP with a 2.7 m telescope, flying at altitudes as high as 13.7 km (45,000 ft). Designed to observe at wavelengths from 0.3 {mu}m to 1.6 mm, SOFIA operates above 99.8% of the water vapor that obscures much of the infrared and submillimeter. SOFIA has seven science instruments under development, including an occultation photometer, near-, mid-, and far-infrared cameras, infrared spectrometers, and heterodyne receivers. SOFIA, a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und-Raumfahrt, began initial science flights in 2010 December, and has conducted 30 science flights in the subsequent year. During this early science period three instruments have flown: the mid-infrared camera FORCAST, the heterodyne spectrometer GREAT, and the occultation photometer HIPO. This Letter provides an overview of the observatory and its early performance.

• OSTI ID: 22047901
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 749; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
CAMERAS
ECLIPSE
HETERODYNE RECEIVERS
INFRARED SPECTRA
INFRARED SPECTROMETERS
PERFORMANCE
PHOTOMETERS
PHOTOMETRY
TELESCOPES
WATER VAPOR
WAVELENGTHS