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The full electromagnetic spectrum …

The full electromagnetic spectrum …. Temperature determines the main type of radiation emitted …. (left to right: Compton, Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer space observatories). M101 -- The “Pinwheel” Galaxy. EARTH ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY VERSUS WAVELENGTH. There’s a problem for IR astronomy.

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The full electromagnetic spectrum …

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  1. The full electromagnetic spectrum …

  2. Temperature determines themain type of radiation emitted … (left to right: Compton, Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer space observatories)

  3. M101 -- The “Pinwheel” Galaxy

  4. EARTH ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY VERSUS WAVELENGTH

  5. There’s a problem for IR astronomy... • Earth’s atmospheric water vapor absorbs almost all incoming infrared radiation • Even mountain-top observatories get a limited view of the infrared universe

  6. And a Solution... • High-flying aircraft --above 40,000 ft -- can observe most of the infrared universe • Airborne infrared telescopes can be more versatile -- and much less expensive -- than space infrared telescopes NASA’s Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) C-141 with a 36-inch telescope onboard, based at NASA-Ames near San Francisco, flew from 1975 - 1995 ,

  7. What does SOFIA do that the Hubble Space Telescope can’t? SOFIA can easily study: > IR: objects much cooler than normal stars like the Sun for example: stars and planets in the process of forming; > IR: objects embedded in, or behind, opaque ISM dust clouds; SOFIA’s instruments can see into and through those clouds > IR: organic molecules in space, which have many of their spectral lines and bands at infrared wavelengths; > Mobility: Foreground solar system objects as they occult background stars. SOFIA’s Advantages

  8. SOFIA’s advantages, cont’ What are SOFIA’s capabilities relative to the Herschel infrared space telescope (= European mission operating from 2009 to 2013)? • SOFIA has more instruments than Herschel (7 versus 3), so: > SOFIA has more ways to analyze a wider range of wavelengths. > SOFIA will have 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-generation instruments • SOFIA has a design lifetime of 20 years, versus Herschel’s 5 years (limited by cryogen supply).

  9. ONBOARD SOFIA View aft from Principal Investigator console; FORCAST mid-IR camera installed

  10. The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

  11. ^ SOFIA mid-IR image of Orion Messier 42 star-forming region

  12. Milky Way Nucleus & Supermassive Black Hole Other Galaxies – Star Formation

  13. The Milky Way Galaxy’s Center * SOFIA’s angular and spectral resolution will allow study of: - Mass infall rate and gravitational potential energy rate around the central black hole - Characteristics of the resulting variable infrared source - How our galaxy compares with other galaxies hosting active nuclei Based on a slide by Kimberlee Gresham

  14. “Starburst” galaxy Messier 82

  15. The Pinwheel Galaxy – M101 http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/07

  16. Planets and Planetary Evolution

  17. SOFIA’s “First Light” Image of Jupiter May, 2010

  18. VENUS – did it once have oceans? Need further spectroscopy (esp. D/H ratio) and modeling of atmospheric chemistry.

  19. Methane in the Martian Atmosphere • Methane gas was recently detected in Mars’s atmosphere using ground-based telescopes. • The methane gas distribution is patchy and changes with time. • Most methane in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by life, raising questions about its origin on Mars. View of Mars colored according to the methane concentration observed in the atmosphere. Warm colors depict high concentrations.

  20. SOFIA is able to: Go anywhere on Earth to reach the occultation shadow of an object Can probe the sizes, structures (rings & moons), and atmospheres of solar system bodies by measuring how they occult background stars This will be the primary objective for HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations) Planetary Science; Occultations Toward Occulted Star Motion of Occulting Object Object Shadow of Occulting Object Earth

  21. Dwarf planet Pluto (V ~ 14) occulted a star (V ~ 14.4). SOFIA mettheshadow of Pluto in mid-Pacific. => HIPO (Lowell Obs.) and FDC (DSI) instruments observed the occultation simultaneously. SOFIA observations of a stellar occultation by Pluto on July 23, 2011 Image sequence from the Fast Diagnostic Camera (FDC) FDC Pluto (circled) is 13 arcsec from the star 200 minutes before the occultation Just before occultation: Pluto and star merged, combined light During occultation: Pluto and star merged, only Pluto light seen After occultation: Pluto and star merged, combined light

  22. Interstellar Chemistry and Organic Molecules

  23. ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS Murchison meteorite Comet Wild 2 Saturn’s moon Titan Saturn’s moon Enceladus

  24. Eagle Nebula (Messier 19) “Pillars of Creation” star-forming region – brown dust is partly organic substances.

  25. Red-brown color represents organic molecules in galaxy Messier 81’s star-forming clouds

  26. Organic Growth & Chemistry in Space Fossil / Delivery Formation Processing

  27. Cycle 01 Call for Proposals(Observing time Nov. 2012 – Dec. 2013) • 1 year (~200 hours) of observing offered with 4 instruments • 133 US proposals and 39 German proposals received with >5X oversubscription rate • US and German Time Allocation Committees (TACs) met separately • More than enough very high quality proposals to fill up the available Cycle 01 observing time

  28. Four 1st Generation Instruments Available for Cycle 01 FORCASTMid-IR Camera GREATHeterodyne spectrometer FLITECAM Near IR Camera HIPO Occultation Photometer (co-mounted on SOFIA) 29

  29. Cycle 1 Instrument Capabilities • FORCAST • Facility Class Infrared Camera • Imaging modes fully supported in Facility Instrument Mode 5-40 mm • GRISM spectroscopy will be offered with resolutions of typically a few hundred (see SOFIA web site) on a shared risk basis • GREAT • Principal Investigator Class Spectrometer • L1a/b and L2 modes offered ( Likely L1 and L2 ) • GO and GREAT team collaborate after selection • FLITECAM • Facility Class Instrument • Imaging modes will be fully supported after commissioning • GRISM spectroscopy ( R~2000) offered as shared risk • HIPO/ FLIPO • Special purpose instrument • Requires collaboration with instrument PI

  30. Cycle 1 US Queue: Distribution of Proposals

  31. Selection Assumptions • Observing Calendar fixed per IMS Overview of 2012 Aug 17 • OC 1-A is a GREAT campaign of 1 engineering, 2 commissioning, and 6 science flights • OC 1-B occurs June 2013 with 10 flights • OC 1-C GREAT Deployment to New Zealand • OC 1-D Nov-Dec 2013 with 20 flights • US and German GI flights are mixed • GREAT GTO flights are dedicated consortium flights • Observatory policy is not to reschedule lost flights • An open question is whether an M-channel swap will be allowed on the GREAT deployment

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