Spitzer Space Telescope Releases First Images

jkleint writes "The fourth and final of NASA's Great Observatories, the Spitzer Space Telescope, has just released its first images. Spitzer sees in infrared, allowing it to look through the dust clouds that obscure visible light images like those taken by the ill-fated Hubble. Spitzer has already found hydrocarbon spectra--precursors to carbon-based life--in a galaxy 3.2 billion light years away. The article has a very good writeup outlining the telescope's mission and why space-based infrared imaging is important."

Comments

Hydrocarbons

[Tango42]

How significant are these hydrocarbon findings? Are similar spectrums detected in other places (eg. the rest of our Galaxy)?