when: | Friday, physician February 20, 2015 7:15 pm |
where: | Moopark College Forum |
what: | Abstract: The joint U.S. and German Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to develop and operate a 2.5-meter infrared airborne telescope in a Boeing 747SP, has been equipped with first-in-science 6 optical and infrared instruments. An overview of the observatory, telescope and performance will be presented. The operation of the FORCAST 5 to 40 micron camera, the GREAT heterodyne spectrometer in the 110 to 240 micron region, the HIPO occultation visible photometer and the FLITECAM 1to 5 micron camera, the FIFI far IR spectrometer and EXES the 5 to 28 micron Spectrometer will be mentioned. The first science infrared images and spectra reveal several discoveries and show the potential for determining how massive stars form in our Galaxy. A very successful occultation of Pluto with HIPO will be described. Future plans and upgrades will briefly be discussed. Bio: His research has focused on studies of our galactic center and its massive black hole, dust debris clouds, galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, astrobiology, studies of the formation of massive stars and the search for low mass stars, brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets. Becklin is an emeritus professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. |