SOFIA

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a flying telescope developed by NASA in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for infrared astronomy. To this end, a reflecting telescope was installed on board a modified Boeing 747SP.

The primary scientific objective is to study the evolution of Milky Way systems, as well as the formation and evolution of stars and solar systems from interstellar molecular and dust clouds.

Infrared telescopes mounted on aircraft offer several advantages. For one thing, at an altitude of 12–15 km, they can fly above 99% of the water vapor that interferes with observations. On the other hand, maintenance costs are lower, and improved technology can be retrofitted more easily than in telescope satellites. Furthermore, the operational lifespan of aircraft-mounted telescopes is 20 years, in contrast to telescope satellites, which exhaust their supply of helium for cooling after just a few years.

The first flight following the retrofit took place on April 26, 2007, and the first test flight with the telescopic door open took place in December 2009. The first scientific observation flight was successfully conducted from November 30 to December 1, 2010. Full operational capability is scheduled for 2014; approximately 160 missions with about 1,000 observation hours per year are planned for that time.

The Laboratory Astrophysics Group led by Professor Giesen is conducting measurements with the SOFIA telescope. Over the next few months, we will be searching for an isotopologue of the C₃ molecule in the Orion Nebula—one of the most active star-forming regions in the Sun’s galactic neighborhood.