SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Your backstage pass to the universe and how NASA studies it. Verification: nasa.gov/socialmedia

NASA and the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) flying observatory carries a 2.7-meter telescope inside a Boeing 747SP aircraft to study the infrared universe.

We’re moving to NASA Universe! On May 15, you’ll automatically be transferred over to our new home. This will be our l...
05/12/2023

We’re moving to NASA Universe! On May 15, you’ll automatically be transferred over to our new home.

This will be our last post on this account, but we still have more to share. Make sure to continue following NASA Universe to stay in the loop on stories to come!

05/05/2023

science is not disappearing into a black hole! It’s joining NASA Universe.

We still have more science to share, so our followers will start seeing our news from NASA Universe starting May 15.

Credit: NGC 1097: ESO/Prieto et al.; Streamlines: Lopez-Rodriguez et al.

That's no moon! Or is it...?Hidden in this SOFIA image of Jupiter are its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and ...
05/04/2023

That's no moon! Or is it...?

Hidden in this SOFIA image of Jupiter are its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Read about how these satellites snuck into the data: https://go.nasa.gov/3LhPgeg

Tatooine may be fictional, but the twisted magnetic fields around binary stellar systems can reveal how Tatooine planets...
05/04/2023

Tatooine may be fictional, but the twisted magnetic fields around binary stellar systems can reveal how Tatooine planets — real-life planets with two suns — come to be. ☀️☀️

More: https://go.nasa.gov/41MiLdK

At home in the Milky Way, magnetic fields appear to be channeling the gas into an orbit around the black hole, rather th...
05/04/2023

At home in the Milky Way, magnetic fields appear to be channeling the gas into an orbit around the black hole, rather than directly into it. This may explain why our galaxy’s black hole is not actively feasting.

More: https://go.nasa.gov/3GZ5iXK

Credit: Dust and magnetic fields: NASA/SOFIA; Star field image: NASA/Hubble Space Telescope

Billions of light-years away, SOFIA found a galaxy nestled in a brief window of time when continued star birth and a bla...
05/03/2023

Billions of light-years away, SOFIA found a galaxy nestled in a brief window of time when continued star birth and a black hole’s ravenous feeding can coexist, challenging our theories of galactic evolution.

More: https://go.nasa.gov/3LdG5eJ

Credit: NASA/Daniel Rutter

Why are some black holes feasting and others fasting? Magnetic fields may be the key. In the Cygnus A galaxy, magnetic f...
05/02/2023

Why are some black holes feasting and others fasting? Magnetic fields may be the key. In the Cygnus A galaxy, magnetic fields are trapping material close to the black hole – where it can easily be devoured. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3otTXZC

The magnetic fields in Cygnus A even help its black hole bridge larger distances, reaching deeper into the galaxy to find material to feed on! More: https://go.nasa.gov/3UQ4p9O

Credit: NASA/SOFIA/Lynette Cook

05/01/2023

We need all wavelengths of light to study black holes! SOFIA looks at infrared light, which tells us about the dust grains surrounding a black hole and helps provide a look into the role of magnetic fields. Follow along with us for to learn more!

Now that SOFIA’s mission has ended, it’s time for our news to take off from somewhere else. This account will merge with...
04/27/2023

Now that SOFIA’s mission has ended, it’s time for our news to take off from somewhere else. This account will merge with NASA Universe on Monday, May 15. (You don’t need to do anything, but we don’t want you to be surprised to notice you’re following a different account!)

SOFIA mostly studied the sky beyond Earth’s atmosphere, but it also studied… well, the sky. Understanding how a special ...
04/22/2023

SOFIA mostly studied the sky beyond Earth’s atmosphere, but it also studied… well, the sky.

Understanding how a special type of oxygen travels through the atmosphere can have implications on climate change and biological activity. SOFIA detected it in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Happy !

More: https://go.nasa.gov/41kGlOT
Credit: NASA/SOFIA/L. Proudfit
(Image not to scale.)

During SOFIA’s final New Zealand deployment last year, a special citizen science instrument few onboard to observe auror...
04/07/2023

During SOFIA’s final New Zealand deployment last year, a special citizen science instrument few onboard to observe aurora australis.

You can do NASA science, too! Celebrate by checking out some of the projects we can use your help on: https://go.nasa.gov/40NkK16

Make sure to follow NASA Citizen Science for more!

Credit: Ian Griffin

SOFIA’s FIFI-LS instrument was efficient at obtaining images and spectroscopic information simultaneously, studying the ...
03/23/2023

SOFIA’s FIFI-LS instrument was efficient at obtaining images and spectroscopic information simultaneously, studying the interstellar medium and star-forming regions in the Milky Way and its nearby galaxies.

It also had a special little mascot! Happy ! 🐾

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