Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
September 4, 1996
IRTF: Scanning the Infrared Skies
Credit:
NASA,
IfA
(U. Hawaii),
Photograph courtesy of
Bill Keel
(University of
Alabama)
Explanation: Above, NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) poses in front of a starry background. Located on top of Hawaii's towering volcano Mauna Kea, the IRTF is the premier telescope for observing in near infrared light. This 3-metre telescope was established in 1979 and spends about half its time observing Solar System objects. In 1994, for example, the IRTF recorded pieces of the famous comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 plunge into Jupiter. Last year, the IRTF recorded an outburst of a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. IRTF's observational successes outside our Solar System include understanding the infrared emission of dust and Pre-Main Sequence stars and even the identification of faint galaxies.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry
Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.:
Jay Norris.
Specific rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA
at
NASA/
GSFC
&:
Michigan Tech. U.