SOFIA - Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
Overview
2.5 m telescope in a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft– Imaging and spectroscopy from 0.3 μm to 1.6 mm
– Emphasizes the obscured IR (30-300 μm)
Operational Altitude
– 39,000 to 45,000 feet (12 to 14 km)
– Above > 99.8% of obscuring water vapor; Transmission > 80%
Joint Program between the US (80%) and Germany (20%)
– First Light in 2010
– 20 year design lifetime – can respond to changing technology
– Science Operations: NASA Ames Research Center
– Flight Operations: Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility
– Deployments to the Southern Hemisphere and elsewhere
– >120 8-10 hour flights per year
Exoplanet Observations - The Advantages of SOFIA
SOFIA is especially effective for spectroscopic studies of the physics and chemistry of:– Proto-planetary disks
– The atmospheres of extrasolar planets
– Significantly less absorption by water and methane; less background emission
– Observations not dependant on the weather that affects ground-based telescopes
– > 6 hour transits (e.g. HD80606b) can be observed continuously with SOFIA (HST can only observe for 96 minute stretches)
– SOFIA’s lifetime and mobility support long-term studies of temporal variations in exoplanet atmospheres.