Boeing 747 SP looks from Stuttgart out into the universe
Nasa and the DLR operate wait a Boeing 747 SP as a flying star. For the first time, she is now conducting research on Europe with a base in Stuttgart, Germany.
The flight altitude of aircraft is for astronomers actually a no brainer. When scientists look for Black holes or the birth of a star outside our own galaxy observe, is the best-in distances of several light years. But when it comes to such unimaginably distant events, observe, it helps to researchers, if a telescope can fly several kilometers above the ground.
The lowest atmospheric layer of our planet, up to 20 miles high in the troposphere, blocks much of the infrared radiation of the universe. It is in this light spectrum, researchers hope to elicit from the universe many more secrets. Nasa and the German center for air and space DLR, Let a Boeing 747 SP to wait a flying star conversion. Since 2010, she heaves an infrared telescope in a more appropriate heights. Since Monday (16. September) is the plane with the name Sofia (stratospheric Observatory for infrared astronomy) in Stuttgart, from where it made its first research flight over Europe will attend.