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Astronomers using SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, discovered something unique: a new type of stellar outburst that had never been seen before in the type of system under study. Through some scientific detective work, they were able to identify the characteristics that made this outburst different, placing it in its own brand-new category. … Read more

Tatooine is real. Well, sort of. Circumbinary planets – planets that orbit around two stars, like the fictional Star Wars planet Tatooine and its two suns – exist in the universe, and are sometimes referred to as Tatooine planets. Systems in which two stars rotate around each other, called binary star systems, are incredibly common, … Read more

  Black holes potentially have an even larger influence on the galaxies around them than we thought. And the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) provided a new way to look at their impact. Active galactic nuclei (AGN) — the central region of a galaxy, which houses its supermassive black hole — are classified by … Read more

Venus is considered Earth’s twin in many ways, but, thanks to the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), one difference now seems clearer: Unlike Earth, Venus does not have any obvious phosphine. The planet Venus with a spectra laid over it The spectral data from SOFIA overlain atop this image of Venus from NASA’s Mariner … Read more

SOFIA is on its way to a new “forever home” at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson. Today, SOFIA took off for the last time from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California. The pilots performed one last flyby of the area with a wing tilt to acknowledge everyone in the community … Read more

Catching a massive star in the early stages of formation is a rare event in astronomy, making it an exciting moment to study. A group of researchers took advantage of the discovery of one youthful star and used the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to reveal the magnetic processes that allow such a massive … Read more

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made the first-ever measurement of heavy atomic oxygen in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Heavy oxygen is so called because it has 10 neutrons, rather than the normal eight of “main” oxygen, the form we breathe. Heavy oxygen is seen as a signature of biological activity, common in the lower … Read more

Molecular clouds — clumps of gas and dust in space, where molecules form — make up the densest regions of the Milky Way, but how they assemble is largely unknown: Some theories point to a slow, long process, while others suggest a fast, dynamic one. Composite image of Cygnus X obtained by NASA’s Spitzer Space … Read more

Once a star evolves beyond the main sequence – the longest stage of stellar evolution, during which the radiation generated by nuclear fusion in a star’s core is balanced by gravitation – the fate of any planetary system it may have had is an enigma. Astronomers generally don’t know what happens to planets beyond this … Read more

New research from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has shown that the magnetic fields in 30 Doradus — a region of ionized hydrogen at the heart of the Large Magellanic Cloud — could be the key to its surprising behavior. 30 Doradus with magnetic field streamlines overlaid 30 Doradus, also known as the … Read more