Aboard the World's Only Flying Observatory

They asked, “Do you want to go to space?” My heart stopped, and I immediately responded, “Yes, and my fourth graders all want to come!” She laughed and said, “Well, I can’t get you and your fourth graders to space yet, but check out this program that will get you pretty close.”

We began to talk about the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), and she told me I could apply as a teacher to be part of the mission. I just had to find someone to do it with me that taught middle or high school science. I was determined, and by the end of the day, I had convinced a coworker, Mike, our high school physics teacher, to apply with me. We soon became SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors along with two teachers from New Jersey.

Mike and I flew from New York City to Los Angeles, California. There we met up with Missy and Theresa from New Jersey, as well as our NASA SOFIA hosts, Dana and Coral. We drove to Palmdale, California, the home base for the SOFIA.

What is the SOFIA? It is a flying observatory! In fact, it is the only flying observatory in the world!

  • S is for “Stratospheric”: The stratosphere is a layer of our atmosphere. Being able to fly into the stratosphere between 38,000-45,000 feet means that SOFIA is above 99% of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere. That means that we can see further into space than someone can using a telescope on the ground.
  • O is for “Observatory”: The plane uses a telescope to “observe” space.
  • F is for “For”
  • I is for “Infrared”: According to NASA, “Many objects in space emit almost all their energy at infrared wavelengths and are often invisible when observed with visible light.

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