The full electromagnetic spectrum …

Temperature determines the main type of radiation emitted … (left to right: Compton, Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer space observatories)

M The “Pinwheel” Galaxy

EARTH ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY VERSUS WAVELENGTH

There’s a problem for IR astronomy...  Earth’s atmospheric water vapor absorbs almost all incoming infrared radiation  Even mountain-top observatories get a limited view of the infrared universe

And a Solution...  High-flying aircraft -- above 40,000 ft -- can observe most of the infrared universe  Airborne infrared telescopes can be more versatile -- and much less expensive -- than space infrared telescopes NASA’s Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) C-141 with a 36-inch telescope onboard, based at NASA-Ames near San Francisco, flew from ,

SOFIA’s Advantages What does SOFIA do that the Hubble Space Telescope can’t?  SOFIA can easily study: >IR: objects much cooler than normal stars like the Sun for example: stars and planets in the process of forming; >IR: objects embedded in, or behind, opaque ISM dust clouds; SOFIA’s instruments can see into and through those clouds >IR: organic molecules in space, which have many of their spectral lines and bands at infrared wavelengths; >Mobility: Foreground solar system objects as they occult background stars.

SOFIA’s advantages, cont’ What are SOFIA’s capabilities relative to the Herschel infrared space telescope (= European mission operating from 2009 to 2013)?  SOFIA has more instruments than Herschel (7 versus 3), so: > SOFIA has more ways to analyze a wider range of wavelengths. >SOFIA will have 2 nd -, 3 rd - and 4 th -generation instruments  SOFIA has a design lifetime of 20 years, versus Herschel’s 5 years (limited by cryogen supply).

10 View aft from Principal Investigator console; FORCAST mid-IR camera installed ONBOARD SOFIA

 The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

^ SOFIA mid-IR image of Orion Messier 42 star-forming region

 Milky Way Nucleus & Supermassive Black Hole  Other Galaxies – Star Formation

The Milky Way Galaxy’s Center * SOFIA’s angular and spectral resolution will allow study of: - Mass infall rate and gravitational potential energy rate around the central black hole - Characteristics of the resulting variable infrared source - How our galaxy compares with other galaxies hosting active nuclei Based on a slide by Kimberlee Gresham

“Starburst” galaxy Messier 82

The Pinwheel Galaxy – M101

 Planets and Planetary Evolution

SOFIA’s “First Light” Image of Jupiter May, 2010

VENUS – did it once have oceans? Need further spectroscopy (esp. D/H ratio) and modeling of atmospheric chemistry.

Methane in the Martian Atmosphere Methane gas was recently detected in Mars’s atmosphere using ground-based telescopes. The methane gas distribution is patchy and changes with time. Most methane in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by life, raising questions about its origin on Mars. View of Mars colored according to the methane concentration observed in the atmosphere. Warm colors depict high concentrations.

Planetary Science; Occultations SOFIA is able to:  Go anywhere on Earth to reach the occultation shadow of an object occultation shadow of an object  Can probe the sizes, structures (rings & moons), and atmospheres of solar system bodies by measuring how they occult background stars  This will be the primary objective for HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations) Photometer for Occultations) Toward Occulted Star Motion of Occulting Object Shadow of Occulting Object Earth Object

 Dwarf planet Pluto (V ~ 14) occulted a star (V ~ 14.4).  SOFIA met the shadow of Pluto in mid-Pacific. =>  HIPO (Lowell Obs.) and FDC (DSI) instruments observed the occultation simultaneously. SOFIA observations of a stellar occultation by Pluto on July 23, 2011 Image sequence from the Fast Diagnostic Camera (FDC) FDC Pluto (circled) is 13 arcsec from the star 200 minutes before the occultation Just before occultation: Pluto and star merged, combined light During occultation: Pluto and star merged, only Pluto light seen After occultation: Pluto and star merged, combined light

 Interstellar Chemistry and Organic Molecules

ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS Murchison meteorite Comet Wild 2 Saturn’s moon Titan Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Eagle Nebula (Messier 19) “Pillars of Creation” star-forming region – brown dust is partly organic substances.

Red-brown color represents organic molecules in galaxy Messier 81’s star-forming clouds

Organic Growth & Chemistry in Space FormationProcessing Fossil / Delivery

Cycle 01 Call for Proposals (Observing time Nov – Dec. 2013)  1 year (~200 hours) of observing offered with 4 instruments  133 US proposals and 39 German proposals received with >5X oversubscription rate  US and German Time Allocation Committees (TACs) met separately  More than enough very high quality proposals to fill up the available Cycle 01 observing time

FLITECAM Near IR Camera HIPO Occultation Photometer (co-mounted on SOFIA) FORCAST Mid-IR Camera GREAT Heterodyne spectrometer Four 1 st Generation Instruments Available for Cycle 01 29

Cycle 1 Instrument Capabilities FORCAST FORCAST –Facility Class Infrared Camera –Imaging modes fully supported in Facility Instrument Mode 5-40  m –GRISM spectroscopy will be offered with resolutions of typically a few hundred (see SOFIA web site) on a shared risk basis GREAT GREAT –Principal Investigator Class Spectrometer –L1a/b and L2 modes offered ( Likely L1 and L2 ) –GO and GREAT team collaborate after selection FLITECAM FLITECAM –Facility Class Instrument –Imaging modes will be fully supported after commissioning –GRISM spectroscopy ( R~2000) offered as shared risk HIPO/ FLIPO HIPO/ FLIPO –Special purpose instrument –Requires collaboration with instrument PI

Cycle 1 US Queue: Distribution of Proposals

Selection Assumptions  Observing Calendar fixed per IMS Overview of 2012 Aug 17 OC 1-A is a GREAT campaign of 1 engineering, 2 commissioning, and 6 science flightsOC 1-A is a GREAT campaign of 1 engineering, 2 commissioning, and 6 science flights OC 1-B occurs June 2013 with 10 flightsOC 1-B occurs June 2013 with 10 flights OC 1-C GREAT Deployment to New ZealandOC 1-C GREAT Deployment to New Zealand OC 1-D Nov-Dec 2013 with 20 flightsOC 1-D Nov-Dec 2013 with 20 flights  US and German GI flights are mixed  GREAT GTO flights are dedicated consortium flights  Observatory policy is not to reschedule lost flights  An open question is whether an M-channel swap will be allowed on the GREAT deployment