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Infrared Telescope Lifts Off

Posted by Hemos on from the up-up-up-and-away dept.

An anonymous reader writes "On its Delta 2 Heavy-Lift vehicle, the Space Infrared Telescope (SIRTF) successfully launched to its solar orbit at 1:35 AM (EDT). As a result of the expansion of the Universe, most of the optical and ultraviolet radiation emitted from stars, galaxies, and quasars since the beginning of time now lies in the infrared. How and when the first objects in the Universe formed will be learned in large part from this observatory's infrared observations."

4 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Infrared, eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    > So, this means it will be able to see through those bikinis, eh?

    First you'd have to spot one among the heavens. Aren't you being a tad optimistic?

  2. Re:Digital Cameras in freezers on rockets. by FrostedWheat · · Score: 3, Funny

    They will soon be needing LONG exposure times.

    As long as they can point accuratly, it shouldn't be a problem.

    Things in space inevitably drift a little, but the beauty of digital cameras is that you don't have to do the exposure all at once. You could pause, re-aim the telescope then begin again.

  3. Re:Technology by Coelacanth · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...I'm happy to say that code is all Java based...

    Oh, so THAT'S why it's shaped like a giant coffee maker.

  4. Re:Digital Cameras in freezers on rockets. by calyxa · · Score: 3, Funny

    reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend many years ago that we still laugh about...

    him: if you had an infinitely small aperature, you could take pictures with infinite depth of field!

    me: but you'd have to take an infinitely long exposure...

    him: not if you had infinitely fast film!

    -calyxa

    --
    Decay! Decay! Decay! -Helium