The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope • Earth.com

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope

07-01-2019


The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope Today’s Video of the Day from NASA introduces the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), an infrared space observatory that is being developed.

The imaging capability of the spacecraft’s giant camera will give WFIRST 100 times the field of view of Hubble, but with the same angular resolution. 

The observatory will be used to survey the universe from beyond the orbit of the Moon, imaging exoplanets and unraveling the secrets of dark energy and dark matter. The Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a NASA observatory designed to perform imaging and surveys of the near-infrared sky. The current design of the mission makes use of an existing 2.4-meter telescope, which is the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope. The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope as shown above in the video shows the different ways and angles.

The Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE, observatory code C51) is a NASA infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope launched in December 2009, and placed in hibernation mode in February 2011. It was re-activated in 2013 and renamed the Near-Earth Object Infrared Survey Explorer. NASA observatory designed to perform wide-field imaging and surveys of the near-infrared sky. 

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: NASA 

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