Scientific Observations Gallery

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This image shows how dust grains are aligned in the W3 star-forming region, a giant molecular cloud in the constellation Cassiopeia approximately 6,200 light years from Earth. Researchers are now comparing data from these observations with models that predict how stars form.

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NASA/SOFIA/Caltech/Darren Dowell

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Map of Cepheus E emphasizing the jets of material flowing to the upper left and lower right from the protostar. The protostar itself is the central yellow-red 'blob" in the colored background map of hydrogen emission made at a wavelength of 4.5 microns by the Spitzer infrared space telescope. The contour curves show the strength of emission from cool carbon monoxide gas measured by the Plateau de Bure radio telescope located in the French Alps. Lefloch et al. used GREAT on SOFIA to measure the amount and velocity of hot carbon monoxide gas at multiple positions along both "wings" of the outflow jet.

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Lefloch et al. 2015 Figure 1

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Combination of three color images of NGC 7023 from SOFIA (red & green) and Spitzer (blue) show different populations of PAH molecules.

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NASA/DLR/SOFIA/B. Croiset, Leiden Observatory, and O. Berné, CNRS; NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer

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Infrared spectrum of the protostar AFGL 2591 made by the EXES instrument on SOFIA, superimposed on an infrared image of the protostar and the nebula that surrounds it, made by the Gemini Observatory.

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Spectrum Image: NASA/DLR/USRA/DSI/EXES Team/N. Indrolio (U. Michigan & JHU); Credit Background Image: C. Aspin et al. / NIRI / Gemini Observatory / NSF.

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SOFIA/FORCAST images of the planetary nebula BD+30 3639. The blue circles have radii of 5 arcsec (6000 AU). Dust with strong emission features indicating O-rich versus C-rich compositions have different radial extents.

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Guzman-Ramirez et al. 2015, Figure 1

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Three-dimensional model using Moccasin , a self-consistent 3-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. The blue dotted line is the total spectrum given by the model. The contributions of O-rich and C-rich dust are shown respectively in cyan and in pink. The green crosses are SOFIA flux measurements in filters that include dust features. The red line is an ISO spectrum.

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Guzman-Ramirez et al. 2015, Figure 4

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SOFIA/GREAT [O I] spectrum at 4.7 THz (63 μm) superimposed on a picture of Mars. Absorption line depth is approximately 10% of the continuum. The abundance of atomic oxygen computed from the data is less than expected from the Forget et al. 1999 global circulation & photochemical model.

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SOFIA/GREAT spectrum: NASA/DLR/USRA/DSI/MPIfR/GREAT Consortium/MPIfS/Rezac et al. 2015; Mars image: NASA

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(a) SOFIA/GREAT far-IR spectrum centered on the telluric OI line, demonstrating clear detections of atomic oxygen absorption in both atmospheres. (b) Spectrum centered on the Martian atmospheric [O I] line, shown in relative flux units.

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Rezac et al. 2015, A&A 580, L10

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A 3.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) filter was used to study the photochemical evolution of PAHs in the reflection nebula NGC 7023. The filter is narrow, Δλ=0.09 μm, and isolates the PAH emission. The plate scale is 0.475 arcsec/pixel and the angular resolution is about 2 arcsec, dominated by telescope jitter. FORCAST also performed observations of NGC 7023 (at 11.2 μm) and the combined data shows a peak in the 11.2/3.3 μm ratio, corresponding to PAHs of ~50 C-atoms. This supports models claiming the photochemical evolution of PAHs is size-dependent and most efficient for PAHs with ~50 C-atoms.

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Croiset et al. 2016, A&A, 590, A26.

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FORCAST has been used to collect 11.1 μm data of NGC 7023 (top left) which was then combined with FLITECAM 3.3 μm data and Spitzer/IRAC 8.0 μm data (top right) to yield a plot of the 11.2/3.3 μm flux ratio revealing the PAH size distribution (bottom). FORCAST observations provide higher angular resolution than Spitzer which thereby enables the PAH size distribution to be traced through the ratio of 11.2 μm emission to the SOFIA/FLITECAM 3.3 μm data.

The famous reflection nebula NGC 7023 was observed with FORCAST in order to better understand the photochemical evolution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) resulting from illumination by the nearby star HD 200775. Similarities to the H2 flux (contours) indicate that the smallest PAH molecules lie on the surface of the PDR.

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Croiset et al. 2016, A&A, 590, A26.

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A velocity resolved map of the iconic Horsehead Nebula in the [C II] 158 μm line was obtained by the upGREAT Low Frequency Array (LFA). The [CII] line is one of the strongest cooling lines in the interstellar medium, and here it traces the photodissociation region illuminated by the O9.5V star Sigma Orionis. The integrated intensity image is shown in the figure to the right. The 12’x17’ map, encompassing the nebula and the underlying cloud ridge, was obtained in just over 4 hours of observation on a single flight. The angular resolution of the map is 15.1” and the velocity resolution is 0.19 km/s (R > 106). These remarkably efficient observations were made possible by an increase in the sensitivity of the upGREAT detectors with the use of fourteen independent detectors of the LFA, and the increased mapping speed facilitated by SOFIA’s inertially stable platform.

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SOFIA/upGREAT

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Observed and modeled H ₂ D+ spectra using APEX/FLASH and SOFIA/GREAT towards a protostar core IRAS 16293-2422. The observed ortho/para H ₂ D+ ratio sets a limit on the age of the cloud core of less than one million years.

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Brünken et al. 2014, Nature, 13924

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Spectra of protostar AFGL 2591 and standard star Vega from 6.085 to 6.130 microns, superimposed. This specific wavelength range is not observable from any ground-based observatory. The strong absorption lines (wavelengths with low intensity) appearing in both spectra are caused by water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere.

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Indriolo et al.

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Absolute photometry of a transit of HD 189733b observed by SOFIA/HIPO in the z’ (905 nm) bands, corrected for extinction, flat field, and correlated noise. Plotted data points represent averages of 87 (z’ band) individual measurements. The blue curve shows model fits to the data; the lower plot shows residuals relative to the model fits.

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Angerhausen et al.

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The 2015 stellar occultation by Pluto of a background star with an r-band of magnitude ~12 was captured by FPI+ as a light curve, showing the decreased signal (in magnitudes) during the event. The central flash in the middle of the light curve confirms the precise position of SOFIA on the centerline of the shadow path, allowing for analysis of the upper atmosphere. This results in a best-fit value for the occultation half-light radius of 1288±1 km (i.e., the radius in the atmosphere at which the occultation light curve drops to half its original flux due to refraction).

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Bosh et al. 2016

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The early temporal development of the classical nova V339 Delphini was observed using FORCAST grisms, which provide coverage from 5–40 μm at low spectral resolution. These data revealed a full suite of hydrogen recombination lines, the analysis of which indicated that the ejecta were still at very high density (ne > 1013 cm-3) and that the hydrogen lines were optically thick.

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Gehrz et al. 2015, ApJ, 812, 132.

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FLITECAM observed the H + K-band spectrum on Feb. 19, 2014 and Feb. 27, 2014 with strong emission features at 1.55-1.65 μm and 1.77 μm. The detail of the geometry of the 1.77 μm emission peak has enabled it to be identified as permitted lines of Co ΙΙ rather than a blend of Fe group lines and Co ΙΙ as previously believed. The strongest emission lines of Co ΙΙ and [Co ΙΙΙ] are presented in the bottom of each plot, and triangles indicate the locations of lines predicted to be strong in the model for comparison.

Favorable atmospheric transmission achievable in the stratosphere onboard SOFIA has enabled FLITECAM spectra to be the only data collected on SN 2014J that spans the entire feature profile.

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Vacca, W. D. et al., 2015, ApJ, 804, 66.

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SOFIA data reveal warm dust (white) surviving inside a supernova remnant. The SNR Sgr A East cloud is traced in X-rays (blue). Radio emission (red) shows expanding shock waves colliding with surrounding interstellar clouds (green).

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NASA/CXO/Herschel/VLA/SOFIA-FORCAST/Lau et al.

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Supernova remnant dust detected by SOFIA (yellow) survives away from the hottest X-ray gas (purple). The red ellipse outlines the supernova shock wave. The inset shows a magnified image of the dust (orange) and gas emission (cyan).

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NASA/CXO/Herschel/VLA/SOFIA-FORCAST/Lau et al.

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NANTEN CO (1-0) map. The region mapped by Herschel/HIFI is marked as a yellow box. Positions of ionized carbon [C II] and nitrogen [N II] observations by SOFIA/GREAT are indicated by crosses.

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W. D. Langer, P. F., Goldsmith, J. D. Pineda, T. Velusamy, M. A., Requena-Torres, and H. Wiesemeyer

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SOFIA/GREAT [CII] spectrum (green) toward IC 342 nuclear southern giant molecular cloud complex, compared with spectra of CO molecular lines observed by the BIMA (Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association) telescope & the JCMT (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope). The spectra were scaled by factors between 0.5 and 2 for clarity.

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GREAT Consortium

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SOFIA/FORCAST mid-IR image of the Sagittarius A East region in the Galactic Center at wavelengths of 19.7 (blue), 31.5 (green), and 37.1 microns (red). The locations of faint infrared sources FIRS 1 & 2 are given by the yellow crosses.

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Lau, Herter, Morris, & Adams

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This high-resolution spectrum of neutral oxygen at 4.74 terahertz (63.2 microns) observed near the center of NGC 7027 shows several maxima and minima, showing that the expanding nebula has a complex structure with multiple components moving at different velocities.

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GREAT Consortium

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Map of planetary nebula NGC 7027 in the neutral oxygen emission line at 63 microns constructed from spatial scans made by the GREAT spectrometer’s H-channel receiver. The effective angular resolution is indicated by the gray circle at lower left.

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GREAT Consortium

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EXES spectral maps of H ₂ emission on Jupiter at 17.0 and 28.3 microns.

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<p>NASA/SOFIA</p>

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H ₂ 0 detected by EXES in the high-mass protostar AFGL 2591

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<p>NASA/SOFIA</p>

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Right: The Becklin-Neugebauer object, the Trapezium stars, and the Orion Bar observed using FIFI-LS at wavelengths of 63, 145, and 157 microns, corresponding to prominent lines of neutral oxygen [OI] and singly ionized carbon [CII] (FIFI-LS Team). Left: Spitzer image of the Orion Nebula (red: 8 μm, orange: 5.8 μm, green: 4.5 μm, blue: 3.6 μm; Thomas Megeath). The red contours indicate the position of the FIFI-LS observation mosaics.

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<p>Right: FIFI-LS Team; Left: Thomas Megeath</p>

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(Left) First FIFI-LS spectral map of planetary nebula NGC 6543 at 51.815 microns, Each of the 25 pixels is 6 x 6 arc seconds in size, corresponding to about 1/10 of a light year at NGC 6543’s distance of 3000 light years. (Copyright: The FIFI-LS Team) (Right) The FIFI-LS field of view is shown superimposed on a image of NGC 6543 taken by the Nordic Optical Telescope (La Palma, Spain) in filters [N II] λ6584 (= red) and [O III] λ5007 Å (= blue and green). (Copyright: R.L.M. Corradi, Isaac Newton Group, and D. Goncalves, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.)

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<p>Left: The FIFI-LS Team; Right: R.L.M. Corradi, Isaac Newton Group, and D. Goncalves, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias</p>

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FLITECAM flux-calibrated spectra of SN 2014J on the four different observing dates. Regions of strong telluric absorption from the ground (transmission < 20%) are shown in dark gray, while regions of moderate telluric absorption from the ground (transmission < 80%) are shown in light gray (cf., for example, Rayner et al. 2009).

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<p>NASA/SOFIA/W. Vacca</p>

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Two images of the central portions of galaxy M82 that include the position of Supernova 2014J (north is at the top, east is to the left in these images). (left) Near-infrared image from the 2-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), before the supernova explosion. (right) Image of M82 including the supernova at near-infrared wavelengths J, H, and K (1.2, 1.65, and 2.2 microns), made Feb. 20 by the FLITECAM instrument on SOFIA.

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<p>NASA/SOFIA/FLITECAM team/S. Shenoy</p>