Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - 60

Airborne Astronomy

Night Flight
Astronomy
Aboard

SOFIA

After two decades of trials and tinkering, the Stratospheric Observatory
for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is ﬁnally ﬂying high.
J. Kelly Beatty
"First Class" here isn't exactly posh
- the cloth-covered seats date from the
1980s, it's cold and noisy, and there's
no food service or even hot coﬀee. But
that's not why I've boarded this repurposed Boeing 747SP
aircraft. On tonight's red-eye over the Paciﬁc Ocean, it's
all about the in-ﬂight entertainment: a chance to see the
universe in ways that just aren't possible from the ground.
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy, soars to altitudes at or above 12 kilometers
(39,000 feet). From these heights, above 99% of the
atmosphere's infrared-blocking water vapor, the craft's
compact, 2.5-meter (100-inch) telescope can be trained on
targets in the "warm universe" - anything from nearby
60

April 2015 sky & telescope

asteroids to star-forming regions in remote galaxies.
NASA acquired this 747SP in 1997 from United Airlines, which in turn had bought it in 1986 from the nowdefunct airline Pan Am, which had ﬂown it since 1978.
The gleaming white fuselage is still emblazoned with
Clipper Lindbergh, the plane's original name, but nothing of the once-opulent interior remains. It took nearly a
decade and $800 million for contractors to gut the interior
and install the telescope, which was fabricated by the
German Aerospace Center (DLR), NASA's partner for this
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy takes
oﬀ from Palmdale, California, at sunset to begin a full night of
astronomical observations. NASA / CARLA THOMAS

Sky and Telescope - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - April 2015

Contents
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - Cover1
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - 3
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - Contents
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - 5
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - A
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - B
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - 6
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - 7
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Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - Cover3
Sky and Telescope - April 2015 - Cover4
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