The observatory above the clouds
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - 08:30
in Astronomy & Space
If you want to reach for the stars, you have to lift off. This could be the motto of Sofia, a jumbo jet which has been converted into an observatory. On board it carries a 2.7-metre telescope, which the researchers use to observe the birthplaces of distant suns, galactic molecular clouds or the envelopes of planets in the infrared as they fly above Earths disturbing atmosphere at an altitude of 15 kilometres.