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SOFIA Science Center

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
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In response to COVID-19, SOFIA observations will be temporarily suspended effective Thursday, March 19, 2020 to ensure the safety of all staff and to comply with state and local county orders. While we are not conducting science observations at this time, the SOFIA Science Center remains active. Services such as data pipeline operations, the helpdesk, and user support are fully functioning. We will provide further updates about the status of the observatory as we know more.

The Chemical Enrichment of the UniverseSOFIA Reveals the Complex Nature of a 'Simple' Star Formation TracerMagnetic Fields Force New Perspective on the Center of Our Milky Way GalaxySOFIA Reveals New View of Milky Way’s CenterCycle 9 Calls for Proposals ReleasedHow The Swan Nebula Hatched How to Shape a Spiral Galaxy Planetary Collisions in a Binary Star SystemMagnetic Field May Be Keeping Milky Way’s Black Hole QuietSOFIA Observations Fuel Debate about the Origin of the Earth’s OceansFirst Astrophysical Detection of a Very Special MoleculeThe Cosmic Fireworks of Massive Star FormationWeighing Galactic Wind Provides Clues to Evolution of GalaxiesSOFIA Uncovers Clues to the Evolution of Universe and Search for LifeSOFIA Finds Dust Survives Obliteration in Supernova 1987ALifting the Veil on Star Formation in the Orion NebulaNASA’s SOFIA Observatory Captures Orion’s Dragon in 3-DCosmic Collisions: Unraveling the Mysterious Formation of Star ClustersMagnetic Fields Confine the Torus at the Core of Cygnus A

Science Results

Solar System
Jupiter observed by FORCAST

NASA Flying Observatory Makes Observations of Jupiter Previously Only Possible from Space

Interstellar Medium
Artist concept with Mira star and helix strand

The Chemical Enrichment of the Universe

Star Formation
Composite image of the Swan Nebula in blue, green and red.

Massive Star Formation in the Omega Nebula

Stars and Supernovae
Illustration of planetary nebula NGC 7027 and helium hydride molecules

First Astrophysical Detection of a Very Special Molecule

Galactic Center
Magnetic fields over a blue and gray image of a bright ring at the center of the Milky Way galaxy

The Role of the Magnetic Field in the Galactic Center

Extragalactic
Magnetic fields shown as streamlines over an image of the galaxy NGC 1086 or M77

SOFIA Confirms Predictions of the Density Wave Theory in NGC 1068

Publications
Astronomy and Astrophysics journal cover

SOFIA Publications

Observatory Update
360 degree view of SOFIA's mission control center

Next Stop: The Stratosphere via Virtual Tour

SOFIA is an 80/20 partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), consisting of an extensively modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a 2.7-meter (106 inch) reflecting telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches). The aircraft is based at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, Calif. The SOFIA Program Office is at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., which manages SOFIA's science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA; Columbia, Md.) and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI; University of Stuttgart).

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Information for the Public

SOFIA takes off into the sunset

Information for educators, resources for journalists, news updates, and image galleries.

Information for Researchers

Jupiter in visible and infrared

Information about the observatory, its scientific capabilities, proposal calls, and other matters of interest to researchers.

NASA SOFIA Mission

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News, images, and other information for the general public.

German SOFIA Institute

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Information about the German SOFIA Institute (DSI).

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Hina Kazmi, NASA
SOFIA Program Manager
NASA Ames

Margaret Meixner, USRA
Science Mission Operations Director
NASA Ames