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Exploring The Planets Tools Of Exploration |
Airborne and Orbital Telescopes
Astronomy From An Airplane
24k JPEG |
The Gerard P. Kuiper Airborne Observatory is a 91-centimeter (36-inch) telescope carried aboard a modified Lockheed C-141 jet transport. At an altitude of 12 kilometers (39,000 feet), the airplane flew above 99% of the Earth's atmospheric water vapor providing clarity. Observations could be made in infrared wavelengths unhindered by atmospheric absorption. The Kuiper Airborne Observatory ended its service in 1995 and its successor, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), should be operational in 2009. |
SOFIA
 53k JPEG Model courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center |
The Stratospheric
Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is a 2.5-meter (100-inch)
telescope carried aboard a modified Boeing 747 SP airplane. The airplane
can fly at an altitude of 12 kilometers (7 miles) or more, above 99 percent
of Earth's atmospheric water vapor. This allows SOFIA to make observations
in infrared wavelengths that are absorbed by the atmosphere at lower altitudes.
SOFIA can carry scientists, crew, educators, and students in the pressurized
cabin where the telescope is controlled. |
Astronomy From Orbit
 253k JPEG © Smithsonian Institution photo Hubble Space Telescope on display at the National Air and Space Museum |
The Hubble Space Telescope
is the largest astronomical telescope ever sent into space. It was launched
April, 1990 and is expected to operate for 15 years. The image at left
shows the Hubble full-size structural dynamic test vehicle in the National
Air and Space Museum's Space Race exhibit.
The Hubble Space Telescope is the first in a series of orbital telescopes
to study the evolution of the universe. The telescope's wide-field
planetary camera has continually provided new information on the planets
including seasonal surface variations on Mars, clouds and storms on
Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, and clearer views of distant Pluto and
Charon than ever before. Hubble also enabled unique views of the impact
of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter in 1994 and provided evidence
for other planetary systems in the universe. |
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Tools of Exploration
Earth-based Observations || Airborne
and Orbital Telescopes || Probes and Fly-by
Spacecraft
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