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Sirtf: probing the dark corners of the galaxy
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Werner, Michael W. Willoughby, Dora S. |
| Copyright Year | 1990 |
| Description | The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is planned for launch by NASA in the mid-1990's. It will be a cryogenically-cooled observatory for infrared astronomy and will carry several focal plane instruments which will provide a wide range of imaging, photometric, and spectroscopic capabilities. SIRTF will build on the scientific and technical progress of the successful IRAS mission and take the next step in the exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths. Most of the observing time during the five-to-ten year SIRTF mission will be available to General Investigators, so there will be ample opportunities for the pursuit of problems originating from within the Space Life Sciences community. Here, a review is given of the capabilities of SIRTF for this style of investigation, using the study of carbon in the Galaxy as a specific example. The very high sensitivity of SIRTF's spectrometers to diffuse emission will allow studies of carbon in both the gaseous and solid phase in the interstellar medium and should be of particular importance for the identification of the carbon-bearing macromolecules believed to be responsible for the emission features identified in the near infrared. SIRTF will also carry out studies of a wide variety of evolved stars which are returning gas and solid phase carbon to the interstellar medium and contribute to our understanding of the carbon budget in the Galaxy. These studies in the area of galactic astronomy will be complemented by detailed investigations of carbon-bearing compounds in solar system objects, including the surfaces of distant asteroids and cometary nuclei which are too faint to be studied in any other way. |
| File Size | 705490 |
| Page Count | 16 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19900018261 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t5p89612f |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1990-04-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Astronomy Spectroscopy Galaxies Imaging Techniques Space Infrared Telescope Facility Aerodynamics Universe Infrared Astronomy Infrared Spectra Carbon Focal Plane Devices Aerospace Engineering Near Infrared Radiation Molecules Sensitivity Infrared Telescopes Comet Nuclei Asteroids Spectrometers Life Sciences Solar System Interstellar Matter Photometry Solid Phases Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aircraft Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
