Thursday, February 13, 1997
UCLA professors join forces with NASA in SOFIA, the world’s
largest flying astronomical observatoryBy Teresa Jun
Daily Bruin Contributor
As the year 2000 approaches, technology and innovation are
joining forces under the sponsorship of NASA to produce the most
up-to-date airborne telescope scientists have ever seen.
Preliminary stages of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA) are already underway, and several UCLA professors
will be playing important roles in this half-billion-dollar
project.
Eric Becklin, professor in the department of physics and
astronomy, has been appointed chief scientific director for SOFIA.
As chief scientist, Becklin will be responsible for maintaining the
overall science goals of the project.
"We need to make sure that SOFIA meets the standards of a
first-class research facility for infrared astronomy for the next
20-25 years," said Becklin.
Incoming infrared radiation, a form of light invisible to the
naked eye, is heavily blocked by water vapor in the Earth’s
atmosphere. SOFIA will fly at an altitude of over 40,000 feet, thus
avoiding over 99 percent of the interfering atmospheric vapor. This
will enable scientists to obtain a view of infrared radiation
unmatched by any ground-based telescope.
Comprised of a large infrared telescope mounted inside a
modified Boeing 747, SOFIA will be the world’s largest flying
astronomical observatory. SOFIA’s primary mirror, the main
light-gathering area on the telescope, has a diameter which is 3
times that of the mirror on its predecessor, the Kuiper Airborne
Observatory, which was also a NASA project.
"The larger surface area (on SOFIA’s primary mirror) will allow
us to collect data on infrared radiation from deeper in space, with
much higher clarity and 60 times faster than the Kuiper," Becklin
said.
Mark Morris, a professor in the department of physics and
astronomy, was heavily involved in the proposal-writing for this
project and is now on the committee that oversees the education and
public outreach of SOFIA. He says the goal of this program is to
"make sure that every man and woman on the street can share in the
excitement of SOFIA."
The committee plans to attain its public outreach goal by
allowing various teachers and students to go up with the research
scientists on SOFIA’s numerous eight-hour flights for educational
purposes. Although a similar program was implemented on the Kuiper
Airborne Observatory, this idea is still revolutionary in the sense
that SOFIA can offer a much more pleasant experience for its
passengers.
"The Kuiper was made of an old military transport, so it was
cold, noisy, and uncomfortable," said Morris, who had the
opportunity to ride on one of its several flights. "But SOFIA will
have (Boeing) 747 business-class seats, so they’re comfortable.
People can enjoy the flight and see what’s going on."
What the passengers will see are the formatted images being
projected onto a movie screen in front of the seats. As yet, the
details of who will be selected to ride and how they will be
selected are being worked out by Morris’s committee.
Another UCLA professor of physics and astronomy, Ian McLean, is
involved in constructing the instrumentation of SOFIA. He and his
team will be in charge of building a special near-infrared camera,
which will allow observers to see graphically-enhanced images of
the normally invisible infrared light.
"The development of instrumentation for SOFIA is quite
technical," said McLean, whose team at the UCLA Infrared Imaging
Detector Lab has been designing infrared imaging devices for
ground-based telescopes for seven years.
UCLA faculty’s involvement doesn’t end there. Paul Coleman Jr.,
professor emeritus of earth and space sciences, is president of the
Universities Space Research Association, a non-profit consortium of
companies and universities, which was selected by NASA to design
and operate the SOFIA project.
The participation of so many UCLA faculty members in various
aspects of this project is a new experience for some of these
professors.
Becklin, who has previously worked with NASA at the Infrared
Telescope Facility in Hawaii, said that to the best of his
knowledge, this is probably the largest number of UCLA professors
working together on a NASA project.
While NASA is funding the modification of the Boeing 747 in
Waco, Texas, the large infrared telescope is being built in Germany
under the sponsorship of DARA, Germany’s space agency.
"SOFIA is such a huge project," said McLean. "The more (people
involved,) the better, because there are so many different aspects.
United Airlines will be providing the plane and the pilot;
Raytheon/E-Systems will do the actual modifications on the
Boeing."
The products of the cooperating agencies will finally come
together in the year 2001 to launch its first flight from Moffett
Field Aerostation in Mountain View, just north of San Jose,
California.
INGA DOROSZ
(left pic) UCLA professors (from left) Ian McLean, Paul Coleman
Jr., Mark Morris, and Eric Becklin took part in NASA’s project,
SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy).
(below) SOFIA, mounted inside a modified Boeing 747, will be the
largest flying observatory.NASA