Tag: SOFIA
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SOFIA: a telescope on the forefront of astrophysics research
From finding organic molecules in distant stars to discovering water on the sunlit surface of the Moon, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is at the forefront of scientific research — especially when it comes to the potential for life either developing or being sustained on bodies other than Earth. The latest studies from…
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Water molecules detected on moon’s sunlit surface, adding impetus to Artemis
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION This illustration highlights the Moon’s Clavius Crater with an illustration depicting water trapped in the lunar soil there, along with an image of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) that found sunlit lunar water. Credits: NASA/Daniel Rutter Water molecules have been directly detected across sunlit regions of…
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Fresh studies boost hopes for water on the moon — and for Jeff Bezos’ lunar vision
The white box indicates the area of the moon’s Clavius Crater that was studied by SOFIA. (Honniball et al. / Nature Astronomy) Scientists have been turning up evidence for the existence of water on the moon for decades, but there’s always been a nagging doubt: Maybe the source of the chemical signatures of hydrogen and…
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3-D views reveal ‘Orion’s Dragon’ in space
A color-coded image that’s based on SOFIA infrared data shows “Orion’s Dragon” in the Orion Nebula, more than 1,300 light-years from Earth. (NASA / USRA / DLR Image) Spectral readings from the Orion Nebula have charted the cosmic weather patterns for powerful stellar winds that have created a bubble of material that’s 12 light-years wide,…