Media Contacts

J.D. Harrington
Office of Public Affairs
NASA Headquarters
202-358-5241
J.d.harrington@nasa.gov

Nicholas A. Veronico
Universities Space Research Association
SOFIA Public Affairs
650-604-4589
nveronico@sofia.usra.edu

Beth Hagenauer
Office of Public Affairs
Dryden Flight Research Center
661-276-7960
Beth.Hagenauer-1@nasa.gov


News

    High-Flying Teachers Trained at Yerkes Observatory

    With the large door over its 2.5-meter German-built telescope wide open, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP aircraft soars over Southern California’s high desert during a test flight in 2010 in preparation for its Early Science missions.
    SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Constance Gartner, Chelen Johnson take their astronomical experience on the flying observatory to the classroom. ...Learn more

Latest News

SOFIA Observations Reveal Star Formation Surprise

Figures 1a and 1b show the G35 protostar at wavelengths of 31 and 37 microns taken by the FORCAST instrument on the SOFIA observatory's infrared telescope in 2011.
04.16.13

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy researchers capture mid-infrared images of massive G35 star condensing in dense dust and gas cocoon.

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› View photos

NASA's SOFIA Flying Observatory Marks 100th Flight

The staff of NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) gathered on the ramp outside the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., to mark a milestone—the flying observatory's 100th flight.
04.12.13

Staff of NASA's SOFIA observatory gathered in front of the flying telescope to mark the 100th flight of the unique airborne infrared observatory.

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› More SOFIA Photos

Educator Teams Fly on NASA’s SOFIA Airborne Observatory

Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Constance Gartner, Vince Washington, Ira Hardin and Chelen Johnson at the educators’ work station aboard the SOFIA observatory during a flight on the night of Feb. 12-13, 2013.
02.15.13

The first four Airborne Astronomy Ambassador (AAA) educators for 2013 have completed their initial flight on NASA’s SOFIA flying observatory.

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News and Events Features

Spotlight

  • NASA's SOFIA aircraft in flight.

    SOFIA Overview

    NASA is developing the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - or SOFIA - as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes.

    › Fact Sheet
    › Infrared Astronomy
  • NASA's SOFIA infrared observatory lifts off on the first of a series of test flights .

    SOFIA Quick Facts

    Download a PDF document containing aircraft, telescope and historical hightlights.

  • Infrared image of the heart of the Orion star-formation complex.

    SOFIA Science Center  →

    The SOFIA Science Center is operated by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI) for NASA and the German aerospace center DLR.

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