                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2022 July 29

                           SOFIA's Southern Lights
            Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Griffin (Otago Museum)

   Explanation: SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
   Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a large
   reflecting telescope into the stratosphere. The ability of the airborne
   facility to climb above about 99 percent of Earth's infrared-blocking
   atmosphere has allowed researchers to observe from almost anywhere over
   the planet. On a science mission flying deep into the southern auroral
   oval, astronomer Ian Griffin, director of New Zealand’s Otago Museum,
   captured this view from the observatory's south facing starboard side
   on July 17. Bright star Canopus shines in the southern night above
   curtains of aurora australis, or southern lights. The plane was flying
   far south of New Zealand at the time at roughly 62 degrees southern
   latitude. Unfortunately, after a landing at Christchurch severe weather
   damaged SOFIA requiring repairs and the cancellation of the remainder
   of its final southern hemisphere deployment.

                     Tomorrow's picture: an eagle rises
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

