During The Months Of February And March, The SOFIA Telescope Will Fly Over The European Skies To Carry Out Some Studies.
After completing scheduled maintenance at the Lufthansa Technik facility in Hamburg, the NASA and German Space Center (DLR) cooperation aircraft is ready to fly again. It will do so from Cologne airport, in Germany, and it will carry out studies in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, among others.
Although it is more common to find SOFIA flying down the west coast of the United States from Palmdale Airport (KPMD) or Christchurch (NZCH) in New Zealand (when necessary studies of objects only visible in the southern hemisphere are to be carry out), this telescope already completed a scientific flight from Cologne in 2019. During this very short visit, it performed more tests than investigations, but finally this time it expected to stay in Europe for several weeks of investigation.
SOFIA plans to carry out 20 flights during 6 weeks. Initially, these flights were scheduled for last year, but they had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the flights are finally completed, it will be the first time that SOFIA will conduct a multi-flight campaign over European soil.
What is SOFIA?
SOFIA, Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a 2.7-meter infrared reflector telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters). This “Special Performance” Boeing's version, conceived for ultra long-haul flights, derives from the original version of the Jumbo, the B747-100. To get this, Boeing removed sections of the original fuselage and heavily modified others to reduce weight and thus allowing the B747 to fly higher, faster and further than any other B747 of the time.
The B747SP that would later become SOFIA, S/N 21441, began to soar through the skies flying for Pan American World Airways in 1977 and it was later christened the Clipper Lindbergh in honor of Charles Lindbergh. This christening was carried out by Lindbergh's widow on the day that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the beginning of her husband's trip to Europe.
Years later, in 1986, United Airlines bought the arcraft and, afterwards, in 1997, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) acquired it, the last owner before passing to NASA that same year.
A year later, in 1998, the Raytheon company designed and installed a wide door in the aft left side of the aircraft's fuselage to give the telescope access to the sky.
The open door for telescope observation does not significantly affect the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
In the central area of the airplane, pressurized area, the scientific equipment and focal point can be found, whilst the part of the telescope that can be seen through the door passes through the forward bulkhead that keeps the area of scientific instrumentation and rest of the plane pressurized. The front of the aircraft hosts a public education and outreach area. Using various shock absorber systems, the telescope is protected during take-off and landing phases. To make the observations and not be disturbed by the movement of the plane and vibrations, the telescope has an inertial transmission system (Fine Drive Assembly) and a vibration isolation system. These systems are even capable of neutralizing unwanted movements caused by the use of the telescope itself.
In December 2009 it performed its first flight as SOFIA and its first observation, in May of the following year. Flying between 38,000 and 45,000 feet (almost 14,000 meters), the B747SP puts SOFIA in the stratosphere, above the 99 % of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere . In this way, astronomers study the solar system in ways that would not be possible with telescopes on the ground.
This "mobile" observatory allows researchers to observe space from almost anywhere on the planet and enables the study of transient phenomena that often occur in the oceans, where no telescope can be located.
SOFIA replaced the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), mounted on a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
As explained by NASA, Many objects in space emit almost all their energy at infrared wavelengths and are often invisible when observed with visible light. In other cases, celestial clouds of gas and dust block the light emitted by more distant objects, but infrared energy pierces through these clouds. In both cases, the only way to learn about these objects is to study the infrared light they emit.
In October 2020 SOFIA confirmed, for the first time, the presence of water on the Moon in areas illuminated by the Sun and not only in cold and shady places.
During long nights of work, around 10 hours, SOFIA studies the solar system and beyond through the detection of medium and far infrared waves collecting information from:
Star birth and death
Formation of new solar systems
Identification of complex molecules in space
Planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system
Nebulas and galaxies
Celestial magnetic fields
Black holes at the center of galaxies
SOFIA is undoubtedly a pillar of research in the field of astronomy and I am completely sure that its latest discovery of water in illuminated areas of the Moon will not be the last of the surprises. In addition, for those of us who enjoy aviation, it is a pleasure to know we'll have SOFIA in our region. You can follow its activity via FlightRadar24: [Registration (N747NA) Flight Number (NASA747)]. We're not always going to have this 44-year-old modified 747SP, NASA's only B747 , soaring over neighboring skies while making space observations. Pay attention to our social networks to be updated of new activities of SOFIA. Enjoy it.
Source: NASA, DLR, SOFIA
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