NASA’s Wild-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) was launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NASA’s Wise has achieved a successful polar orbit and indications are that power and cooling systems are operating nominally.
NASA’s WISE is designed to scan the entire sky periodically to “uncover the universe’s hidden treasures” in the infrared spectrum. “Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies.” After six months, WISE will have taken a million and a half pictures covering the entire observable sky. The images will be downloaded to an Earth bound computer four times a day to build an atlas covering the sky and listing all of the observed objects.
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