Early results from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite

Journal Article · Fri Apr 06 04:00:00 EST 1984 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.224.4644.14· OSTI ID:6654777

Neugebauer, G; Beichman, C A; Soifer, B T

For 10 months the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) provided astronomers with what might be termed their first view of the infrared sky on a clear, dark night. Without IRAS, atmospheric absorption and the thermal emission from both the atmosphere and Earthbound telescopes make the task of the infrared astronomer comparable to what an optical astronomer would face if required to work only on cloudy afternoons. IRAS observations are serving astronomers in the same manner as the photographic plates of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey; just as the optical survey has been used by all astronomers for over three decades, as a source of quantitative information about the sky and as a roadmap for future observations, the results of IRAS will be studied for years to come. IRAS has demonstrated the power of infrared astronomy from space. Already, from a brief look at a miniscule fraction of the data available, we have learned much about the solar system, about nearby stars, about the Galaxy as a whole and about distant extragalactic systems. Comets are much dustier than previously thought. Solid particles, presumably the remnants of the star-formation process, orbit around Vega and other stars and may provide the raw material for planetary systems. Emission from cool interstellar material has been traced throughout the Galaxy all the way to the galactic poles. Both the clumpiness and breadth of the distribution of this material were previously unsuspected. The far-infrared sky away from the galactic plane has been found to be dominate by spiral galaxies, some of which emit more than 50% and as much as 98% of their energy in the infrared - an exciting and surprising revelation. The IRAS mission is clearly the pathfinder for future mission that, to a large extent, will be devoted to the discoveries revealed by IRAS. 8 figures.

• Research Organization: California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena
• OSTI ID: 6654777
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Journal Name: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States) Vol. 224; ISSN SCIEA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640100* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COMETS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EXPLORATION
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
INFRARED SURVEYS
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
INTERSTELLAR GRAINS
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
PARTICLES
PLANETARY EVOLUTION
REVIEWS
SKY
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
SPACE
STAR EVOLUTION
SURVEYS