Astronomy at 41,000 Feet: The Story of the SOFIA Mission by Ken Bower
Note: This speaker will be appearing remotely via Zoom.
Infrared light provides a very valuable perspective on the Cosmos. For nearby objects, it penetrates intervening gas and dust and in many cases is the predominate type of light emitted. For distant objects, light emitted at higher frequencies is shifted into the infrared portion of the spectrum by the expansion of the Universe. But Earth's atmosphere absorbs infrared light and greatly distorts ground-based infrared observations, making detailed ground-based observations impossible. Infrared space telescopes, such as IRAS, ISO, the Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes, and WISE, overcome these limitations but are extremely expensive and usually cannot be modified or maintained. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was an intermediate solution that carried infrared instruments above most of the atmosphere but was less expensive than a space telescope and maintainable and modifiable, like a ground-based telescope. Monday's speaker, Ken Bower, is an engineer who played a vital role in the operation of SOFIA and will give us an inside perspective on this amazing observatory. Please see his description of his presentation below.
Earth can be a decent place for astronomical observations, but our atmosphere really only allows for visible light (and radio) observing, with most of the electromagnetic spectrum obscured. NASA built and operated airborne observatories to enable us to view the infrared skies. Learn about the greatest of these, SOFIA, from its mission planner. SOFIA, funded by the United States and German Space Agencies, flew a 747SP aircraft carrying a 2.7 meter telescope on more than 800 science missions between 2011 and 2022, operating out of eight different airports in five countries across four continents, utilizing several instruments covering spectra between ~1.3 and 500microns.
About Ken Bower
Ken Bower is the lead mission planner for NASA's airborne observatory, SOFIA, which performed astronomical observations with unique spectral capabilities from 2011-2022, operating out of NASA Ames and Armstrong Centers. He previously helped build and operate Gravity Probe-B, The Relativity Mission, at Stanford University. Ken delights is speaking to audiences of all ages and is a lifelong Scouter.