With its primary mirror covered by a protective sun shade, the German-built infrared telescope nestled in its cavity in the rear fuselage of NASA's SOFIA flying observatory is easily visible in this close-up image.
ED10-0080-06
With its primary mirror covered by a protective sun shade, the German-built infrared telescope nestled in its cavity in the rear fuselage of NASA’s SOFIA flying observatory is easily visible in this close-up image taken during a test flight.April 14, 2010
NASA Photo / Jim Ross