NASA’s SOFIA Finds Missing Link Between Supernovae and Planet Formation

[Rick]

NASA's SOFIA Finds Missing Link Between Supernovae and Planet Formation

Using NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an international scientific team discovered that supernovae are capable of producing a substantial amount of the material from which planets like Earth can form.

These findings are published in the March 19 online issue of Science magazine.

"Our observations reveal a particular cloud produced by a supernova explosion 10,000 years ago contains enough dust to make 7,000 Earths," said Ryan Lau of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The research team, headed by Lau, used SOFIA's airborne telescope and the Faint Object InfraRed Camera for the SOFIA Telescope, FORCAST, to take detailed infrared images of an interstellar dust cloud known as Supernova Remnant Sagittarius A East, or SNR Sgr A East.

More from NASA.

[Rick]

NASA's SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

SOFIA has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon's southern hemisphere. Previous observations of the Moon's surface detected some form of hydrogen, but were unable to distinguish between water and its close chemical relative, hydroxyl (OH). Data from this location reveal water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million – roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water – trapped in a cubic meter of soil spread across the lunar surface. The results are published in the latest issue of Nature Astronomy.

More: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon/

[Rick]

Did Arthur C. Clarke call it right? Water spotted in Moon's sunlit Clavius Crater by NASA telescope

Water molecules have been detected in soil in one of the Moon's largest sunlit craters, NASA announced on Monday, which means permanent bases on the natural satellite may be potentially a lot easier to support.

The discovery was made using a telescope onboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) – a modified Boeing 747 capable of flying 45,000 feet above our planet. The airborne 'scope spied what may well be water in the Clavius Crater, which is visible from Earth, located in the southern hemisphere, and, coincidentally, the site of mankind's first Moon base in Arthur C. Clarke's classic science fiction novel 2001.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/26/nasa_moon_water/

[Rick]

NASA's modified Boeing 747 SP SOFIA to be grounded for good

Even as NASA publishes images demonstrating progress in the commission of the James Webb Space Telescope, preparations are being made to ground the Boeing 747-based Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) for good.

The end of operations was announced on April 28, confirming that there would be no more mission extensions for the modified Boeing 747 SP and its telescope. Operations will cease "no later than Sept 30, 2022" once the current mission extension comes to an end.

SOFIA, a joint project between NASA and partners at the German Space Agency at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), was on borrowed time. Development began in 1996, first light was seen in 2010 and the platform was declared fully operational in 2014.

Its five-year prime mission was completed in 2019 and a three year mission extension will draw to a close this year.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/29/sofia_end_of_mission/

[Hugh]

Thanks for the update Rick

It was an interesting 'experiment' really and reading the magazine reports on it were always interesting, however, cost effectiveness was always going to be a problem.

- Hugh

[Rick]

It filled a gap for a time, but for useful IR astronomy, you can't beat being in space.