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...


Earth’s atmospheric
water vapor absorbs
almost all incoming
infrared radiation
Even mountain-top
observatories get a
limited view of the
infrared universe
And a Solution...
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
,

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
SOFIA’s Advantages
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, 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).
ONBOARD SOFIA
View aft from Principal Investigator console; FORCAST mid-IR camera installed
10

The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation
^
SOFIA mid-IR image of
Orion Messier 42
star-forming region

Milky Way Nucleus & Supermassive Black Hole

Other Galaxies – Star Formation
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
“Starburst” galaxy Messier 82
The Pinwheel Galaxy – M101
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/07

Planets and Planetary Evolution
SOFIA’s
“First Light”
Image of Jupiter
May, 2010
VENUS – did it once have oceans? Need further
spectroscopy (esp. D/H ratio) and modeling of
atmospheric chemistry.
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.
Planetary Science; Occultations
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

Toward
Occulted Star
Object
Motion of Occulting Object
Shadow of
Occulting Object
This will be the primary objective
for HIPO (High-speed Imaging
Photometer for Occultations)
Earth
SOFIA observations of a stellar
occultation by Pluto on July 23, 2011

Dwarf planet Pluto (V ~ 14) occulted a star (V ~ 14.4).

SOFIA met the shadow of Pluto in mid-Pacific.

HIPO (Lowell Obs.) and FDC (DSI) instruments
observed the occultation simultaneously.
=>
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

Interstellar Chemistry and Organic Molecules
ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS
Murchison
meteorite
Comet
Wild 2
Saturn’s
moon
Titan
Saturn’s
moon
Enceladus
Eagle Nebula
(Messier 19)
“Pillars of
Creation”
star-forming
region –
brown dust is
partly organic
substances.
Red-brown
color
represents
organic
molecules
in galaxy
Messier 81’s
star-forming
clouds
Organic Growth & Chemistry in Space
Formation
Processing
Fossil / Delivery
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
Four 1st Generation Instruments Available for Cycle 01
FORCAST
Mid-IR Camera
GREAT
Heterodyne
spectrometer
FLITECAM
Near IR Camera
HIPO
Occultation Photometer
(co-mounted on SOFIA)
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
Cycle 1 US Queue: Distribution of Proposals
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
