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NASA Invites Media to View NASA’s SOFIA Aircraft and Telescope in Silicon Valley

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NASA

Oct 16, 2019
RELEASE

To register for the public viewing on Saturday, Oct. 19, visit: https://nvite.jsc.nasa.gov/RSVP/?id=l7tz4

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NASA’s Ames Research Center will host the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, for media viewing on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope designed to observe the infrared universe.

This will be SOFIA’s first visit to Ames in eight years, and the aircraft will be open for viewing, inside and out, by members of the news media and a limited number of ticketed Ames staff, family members and the public for self-guided walkthroughs. The aircraft will be located on the Moffett Federal Airfield tarmac area. ​

Flying into the stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet puts SOFIA above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. The observatory’s mobility allows researchers to observe from almost anywhere in the world, and enables studies of transient events that often take place over oceans where there are no telescopes.

Media interested in participating must RSVP by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, to Darryl Waller at darryl.e.waller@nasa.gov.

Learn more about SOFIA and its mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/overview/index.html

SOFIA visual resources are available from NASA’s Image and Video Library:

https://images.nasa.gov/search-results?q=sofia&page=1&media=video&yearStart=1920&yearEnd=2019

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Darryl Waller
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-4789
darryl.e.waller@nasa.gov

Nick Veronico
Senior Communications Manager (USRA)
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
650-604-4589
nicholas.a.veronico@nasa.gov