Twenty-six educators from the United States have been selected for research flights aboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.
Twenty-six educators from the United States have been selected for research flights aboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA. As participants in the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program, the educators will partner with professional astronomers using the SOFIA for scientific observations in 2012 and 2013.
The SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner equipped with a 100-inch (2.5-meter) diameter telescope. The observatory enables the analysis of infrared light to study the formation of stars and planets; chemistry of interstellar gases; composition of comets, asteroids and planets; and supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies.January 2012
NASA / SOFIA / Nick Veronico