NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), managed by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) celebrates its tenth anniversary on May 26, 2020. The observatory was declared fully operational in 2014, but it began making new discoveries even while completing the testing of its instruments and telescope.
Since then, SOFIA’s observations of infrared light, invisible to the human eye, have made many scientific discoveries about the hidden universe.
“SOFIA is currently the only astronomical observatory capable of delivering data at its unique wavelengths to the astronomical community,” noted Margaret Meixner, USRA Director, Science Mission Operations for SOFIA.
Using SOFIA’s powerful telescope and unique combination of interchangeable instruments, scientists detected the universe’s first type of molecule in space, unveiled new details about the birth and death of stars and planets, and explained what’s powering supermassive black holes and how galaxies evolve and take shape, among other discoveries.
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Here are some of SOFIA’s top discoveries of the last decade:
The Universe’s First Type of Molecule, Found at Last
SOFIA found the first type of molecule to form in the universe, called helium hydride. It was first formed only 100,000 years after the Big Bang as the first step in cosmic evolution that eventually led to the complex universe we know today. The same kind of molecule should be present in parts of the modern universe, but it had never been detected outside of a laboratory until SOFIA found it in a planetary nebula called NGC 7027. Finding it in the modern universe confirms a key part of our basic understanding of the early universe.
Newborn Star in Orion Nebula Prevents Birth of Stellar Siblings
The stellar wind from a newborn star in the Orion Nebula is preventing more new stars from forming nearby as it clears a bubble around it. Astronomers call these effects “feedback,” and they are key to understanding the stars we see today and those that may form in the future. Until this discovery, scientists thought that other processes, such as exploding stars called supernovas, were largely responsible for regulating the formation of stars.
Weighing a Galactic Wind Provides Clues to the Evolution of Galaxies
SOFIA found that the wind flowing from the center of the Cigar Galaxy (M82) is aligned along a magnetic field and transports a huge amount of material. Magnetic fields are usually parallel to the plane of the galaxy, but the wind is dragging it so it’s perpendicular. The powerful wind, driven by the galaxy’s high rate of star birth, could be one of the mechanisms for material to escape the galaxy. Similar processes in the early universe would have affected the fundamental evolution of the first galaxies.
Nearby Planetary System Is Similar to Our Own
The planetary system around the star Epsilon Eridani, or eps Eri for short, is the closest planetary system around a star similar to the early Sun. SOFIA studied the infrared glow from the warm dust, confirming that the system has an architecture remarkably similar to our solar system[CJS(1]. Its material is arranged in at least one narrow belt near a Jupiter size planet.
Magnetic Fields May Be Feeding Active Black Holes
Magnetic fields in the Cygnus A galaxy are feeding material into the galaxy’s central black hole. SOFIA revealed that the invisible forces, shown as streamlines in this illustration, are trapping material close to the center of the galaxy where it is close enough the be devoured by the hungry black hole. However, magnetic fields in other galaxies may be prevent black holes from consuming material.
Magnetic Fields May Be Keeping Milky Way’s Black Hole Quiet
SOFIA detected magnetic fields, shown as streamlines, that may be channeling the gas into an orbit around the black hole, rather than directly into it. This may explain why our galaxy’s black hole is relatively quiet, while those in other galaxies are actively consuming material.
“Kitchen Smoke” Molecules in Nebula Offer Clues to Building Block of Life
SOFIA found that the organic, complex molecules in the nebula NGC 7023 evolve into larger, more complex molecules when hit with radiation from nearby stars. Researchers were surprised to find that the radiation helped these molecules grow instead of destroying them. The growth of these molecules is one of the steps that can lead to the emergence of life under the right circumstances.
Dust Survives Obliteration in Supernova
SOFIA discovered that a supernova explosion can produce a substantial amount of the material from which planets like Earth can form. Infrared observations of a cloud produced by a supernova 10,000 years ago contains enough dust to make 7,000 Earths. Scientists now know that material created by the first outward shock wave can survive the subsequent inward “rebound” wave generated when the first collides with surrounding interstellar gas and dust.
SOFIA found the material produced from first outward wave can survive the second inward wave and can become seed material for new stars and planets.
New View of Milky Way’s Center Reveals Birth of Massive Stars
SOFIA captured an extremely crisp infrared image of the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Spanning a distance of more than 600 light-years, this panorama reveals details within the dense swirls of gas and dust in high resolution, opening the door to future research into how massive stars are forming and what’s feeding the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s core.
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What Happens When Exoplanets Collide
Known as BD +20 307, this double-star system that is more than 300 light-years from Earth likely had an extreme collision between rocky exoplanets. A decade ago, observations of this system gave the first hints of a collision when they found debris that was warmer than expected to be around mature stars that are at least one billion years old. SOFIA’s observations discovered the infrared brightness from the debris has increased by more than 10% – a sign that there is now even more warm dust and that a collision occurred relatively recently. A similar event in our own solar system may have formed our Moon.
“We believe the best is yet come in the remaining years in SOFIA’s planned life-time, and perhaps beyond, based on its new and archival datasets. For example, SOFIA observations are being used in tandem with other major ground-based and space-based astronomical observatories to study our galaxy and solar system (e.g. Earth’s Moon and other planets) and galaxies far beyond,” said USRA’s Ghassem Asrar, Senior Vice President, Science.
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