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NEOWISE telescope

NEOWISE telescope

  • "NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) got extension for two more years and will continue operations until June 2023.

Key points:

  • Originally it was launched as the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission in December 2009,
  • this telescope surveyed the entire sky in infrared wavelengths, detecting asteroids, dim stars, and some of the faintest galaxies visible in deep space.
  • WISE completed its primary mission when it depleted its cryogenic coolant and it was put into hibernation in February 2011.
  • Observations resumed in December 2013.
  • It was repurposed by NASA’s Planetary Science Division as “NEOWISE” to identify asteroids and comets throughout the solar system, especially, those that pass close to Earth’s orbit.

Features:

  • It provides a unique and critical capability of planetary defense.
  • It allows rapidly measure the infrared emission and more accurately estimate the size of hazardous asteroids as they are discovered.
  • By studying infrared signature, scientists can reveal the size of an asteroid and compare it to the measurements of observations made by optical telescopes on the ground.
  • To date, NEOWISE has provided an estimate of the size of over 1,850 NEOs, helping us better understand our nearest solar system neighbors.
  • NEOWISE also discovered Comet NEOWISE, which was named after the mission and dazzled observers worldwide in 2020.
  • NEOWISE’s replacement, the next-generation NEO Surveyor, is currently scheduled to launch in 2026

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