SOFIA in New Zealand
SOFIA, the mighty space telescope, the most wonderful machine ever invented by humankind is back in New Zealand for it’s 2015 deployment.
Flying at 13.7 km, SOFIA Looks at the Universe, our Milky Way galaxy, young stars, star-forming regions and supernova remnants in the southern Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds, and several nearby galaxies. Surprisingly, this year it also looks at Pluto!
A first encounter with SOFIA
I cannot perceive the scale of the universe, but I can perceive the scale of a jumbo jet as I stand beneath it. I’m on the tarmac, surrounded by fuel trucks, wearing a high-vis vest and Aviation Security Service identification tag that says “escort required”. I want to touch something, perhaps a wheel, but I don’t think I should.
Eric Becklin tells about SOFIA
In 2013, I had the great opportunity to interview the Chief Science Advisor of SOFIA, Erick Becklin whilst the flying telescope was here in New Zealand for its first southern deployment.
We hold the dream that SOFIA will one day be accessible to school teachers from New Zealand, who could become ambassadors of SOFIA. In fact, the reason for this interview was to bring SOFIA to the classrooms and to a wider audience from around New Zealand.
Now SOFIA is back in New Zealand and very soon there will be more stories about this wonderful flying telescope. Watch this space and until then, learn about SOFIA and its discoveries from this interview.