Past and future infrared surveys and space missions

IRAS, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, launched 1983:

The sky at a wavelength of 100 microns, as seen by IRAS:

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The Milky Way, viewed by COBE:

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The galactic plane at optical, near-IR, and far-IR wavelengths:

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SOFIA, a 2.5-m IR telescope in a plane (now on hold due to cuts in NASA's science budget):

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Atmospheric transmission from the ground compared to that from a plane:

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The current sky coverage of 2MASS, the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey: complete!

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A 2MASS discovery: a new globular cluster near the galactic plane:

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Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope (formerly known as SIRTF), launched August 2003:

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Next: recent infrared science results

Back: an infrared example: DQ Tau