German SOFIA Institute – Astronomy Now

5 December 2020

Latest News

[ 3 December 2020 ] Dramatic video shows catastrophic collapse of Arecibo instrument platform News
[ 30 November 2020 ] SOFIA opens a surprising window on quasars and galactic evolution News
[ 24 November 2020 ] Mars rover data indicates ancient megafloods across Gale Crater News
[ 22 November 2020 ] Radioactive elements may be key to exoplanet habitability News
[ 19 November 2020 ] Iconic Arecibo Observatory, too unsafe to repair, faces demolition News

Telltale signs of a planetary collision in binary star system

24 October 2019 Astronomy Now

Relatively warm clouds of dust swirling around a binary star system may be the result of a cataclysmic collision between two rocky exoplanets.

SOFIA detects long-sought primeval molecule

18 April 2019 Astronomy Now

Using the SOFIA airborne observatory, scientists have finally detected helium hydride, the first molecule formed in the wake of the Big Bang.

SOFIA in the right place at the right time for Pluto observations

4 July 2015 Astronomy Now

Currently operating out of Christchurch, New Zealand, the NASA/DLR SOFIA airborne 2.5-metre infrared telescope had to make last-minute flight path corrections to successfully secure observations of Pluto’s atmosphere as it occulted a distant star.