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| Infrared astronomy | |
|---|---|
| Name | Infrared astronomy |
| Wavelength range | 0.75–1000 μm |
| First detection | William Herschel (infrared heat discovery context) |
| Notable instruments | Spitzer Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Infrared Astronomical Satellite |
Infrared astronomy is the observational study of astronomical objects via electromagnetic radiation longer than visible light, conducted with ground-based observatories, airborne platforms, and space telescopes. It uses specialized detectors and cryogenic instrumentation to probe star formation, protoplanetary disks, active galactic nuclei, and the interstellar medium, linking missions such as Infrared Astronomical Satellite, Spitzer Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, ISO (spacecraft) and observatories like Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, Herschel Space Observatory.
The origins trace to 19th-century experiments by William Herschel and contemporaries in the era of Royal Society science; later technological advances in the 20th century involved institutions such as California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Royal Observatory, Greenwich and programs like Palomar Observatory initiatives. Mid-century developments at Bell Labs, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, RCA Corporation and national projects including NASA and European Space Agency produced cooled detectors and balloon missions culminating in landmark projects: Infrared Astronomical Satellite (a collaboration among NASA, European Space Agency, and UK Science and Engineering Research Council), Kuiper Airborne Observatory run by NASA Ames Research Center, and the Spitzer Space Telescope managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech. Subsequent investments by agencies including National Science Foundation, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt enabled facilities such as Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and missions like Herschel Space Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope.
Earth's atmosphere imposes windows and opaque bands due to molecules studied by groups at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and observatories at high-altitude sites such as Mauna Kea, Atacama Desert, Paranal Observatory and La Silla Observatory. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and ozone absorption modeled by teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, European Southern Observatory and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center define transmissive bands used by instruments on platforms including SOFIA (operated by NASA and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt), while space missions like Spitzer Space Telescope, Herschel Space Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope bypass atmospheric opacity. Radiative transfer codes developed at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Princeton University, University of Arizona and University of California, Berkeley quantify sky background from thermal emission of facilities such as Keck Observatory and Very Large Telescope and predict sensitivity for projects led by Caltech and MIT.
Detector technologies emerged from research at Bell Labs, RCA Corporation, Rockwell International and later companies collaborating with NASA and ESA: mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe), indium antimonide (InSb), and bolometers developed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Chicago and Cardiff University. Cryogenic systems designed by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Airbus Defence and Space and laboratories including Los Alamos National Laboratory enable low-noise operation of focal plane arrays used on missions such as Spitzer Space Telescope, WISE (spacecraft), Herschel Space Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope. Optical designs influenced by work at Caltech Optical Observatories, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Royal Observatory Edinburgh incorporate coronagraphs, interferometers from European Southern Observatory projects, and spectrometers developed by teams at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.
Techniques span imaging, spectroscopy and interferometry implemented on ground arrays like Atacama Large Millimeter Array, Subaru Telescope, Keck Observatory and space telescopes including Spitzer Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory. Airborne platforms such as Kuiper Airborne Observatory and SOFIA provide access to stratospheric windows for instruments maintained by NASA Ames Research Center and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt. Interferometric methods advanced by projects at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, European Southern Observatory and Caltech underpin nulling interferometry concepts from teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Ground-based adaptive optics systems developed at W. M. Keck Observatory, European Southern Observatory and Gemini Observatory reduce atmospheric blur for high-resolution studies led by groups at University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Hawaii.
Infrared emission arises from thermal dust heated in environments studied by researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Harvard University, University of Cambridge and University of California, Berkeley; molecular lines traced by teams at California Institute of Technology, Princeton University and University of Texas at Austin reveal chemistry in regions observed by Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory. Protostars and protoplanetary disks investigated by groups at Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Arizona and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory show mid-infrared signatures, while active galactic nuclei studied at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and European Southern Observatory emit via torus models developed at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Cool stars, brown dwarfs and exoplanets detected by surveys organized by 2MASS, WISE (spacecraft), Kepler Mission teams present spectroscopic features analyzed at University of Colorado Boulder and University of California, Los Angeles.
Calibration pipelines originate from software groups at Space Telescope Science Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, European Space Agency and observatory data centers such as IPAC, CADC and ESA Science Ground Segment. Reduction methods developed at Princeton University, MIT, Carnegie Institution for Science and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy correct for dark current, flat-field, and sky subtraction using reference catalogs from 2MASS, WISE (spacecraft), Gaia and instrument teams from Spitzer Science Center and JWST Science Operations Center. Photometric and spectroscopic standards maintained by National Institute of Standards and Technology, Royal Observatory Greenwich and observatories like Mount Wilson Observatory support cross-calibration for legacy surveys led by Sloan Digital Sky Survey and mission archives curated by NASA/IPAC.
Infrared astronomy enabled key discoveries from collaborations among NASA, ESA, JAXA, NSF and universities: the mapping of star formation in the Orion Nebula by teams at Caltech and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; the detection of dusty tori in NGC 1068 studied by European Southern Observatory and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics; the census of brown dwarfs via projects like 2MASS and WISE (spacecraft); and the study of high-redshift galaxies using Spitzer Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope data analyzed by groups at University of Arizona, University of California, Santa Cruz and Princeton University. Contributions from instrument builders at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and data centers such as IPAC continue to expand knowledge of planet formation, galaxy evolution, and the cosmic infrared background investigated by collaborations including Herschel Space Observatory teams and surveys from Sloan Digital Sky Survey.