Thursday, October 17, 2013

Spitzer's Second Act

NASA's Spitzer infrared telescope was designed to study big stuff, like stellar nurseries and the centers of galaxies, where infrared can penetrate gas and dust that optical light cannot.  Now, however, after ten years of service, it's also studying exoplanets.

Some worlds are brighter in infrared.  Spitzer can also better estimate a planet's size, and even reveal facts about an exoplanet's atmosphere.

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