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SIRTF and the Milky Way, an Artist’s Concept

Illustration of Spitzer Space Telescope in front of infrared image
The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (now Spitzer Space Telescope) whizzes in front of a brilliant, infrared view of the Milky Way galaxy's plane in this artistic depiction. The mission marks the last of NASA's Great Observatories, a program that includes the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (now Spitzer Space Telescope) whizzes in front of a brilliant, infrared view of the Milky Way galaxy’s plane in this artistic depiction. The mission marks the last of NASA’s Great Observatories, a program that includes the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.

In addition to studying many of the coldest, oldest and most dust-enshrouded objects and processes in the universe, the mission will also be an important part of NASA’s Origins Program, which seeks to answer the questions: Where did we come from? Are we alone?

Image Credit: NASA/JPL