You may remember the fantastic Double Helix Nebula, which appeared to be coiling backwards for DNA, thus I dubbed it the “Z-DNA Nebula.” In an email, the discoverer of this structure, Mark Morris, echoed this sentiment, but in his email he expressed doubts about whether we could get a better picture and resolve the direction of twisting issue. Why? Because an infra-red telescope in an airplane, a project called SOFIA, was on the chopping block at NASA, and we would need it to study this nebula more closely. I’m pleased to report that that is no longer the case, SOFIA lives!
The Bad Astronomer has the scoop. Last month, SOFIA posted some news about having passed a technical and programmatic review that made it more likely to continue to have funding. During a NASA Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin announced that it will get funding. This comes at a price, as Phil Plait explains.
Not only is this great news for a mission that has been in the works since 1996, it is good news for science education and outreach. Besides lift itself high up enough to take infra-red photos, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is also going to contribute to science education with various education programs and materials for the classroom. Plus, I imagine that SOFIA could be shown off at airports, perhaps with field trips and tours, after all, it is a mobile obseratory.
Projects were started, then cut and gutted to shore up the budget. Space shuttles were grounded and the Hubble was presumed to be left with its gyros spinning its last days while irresponsible college dropouts dictated what their scientists could say and do. But New Horizons launched, Dawn was reinstated, NASA pledged to improve communication, STS-121 went up in space this week, and now SOFIA is saved. The climate at NASA is indeed changing.
