Current and Future Space and Airborne Observatories for ISM Studies
Abstract
A tremendous amount of radiation is emitted by the Interstellar Medium in the mid- and far-infrared (3-500 {\mu}m) that represents the majority of the light emitted by a galaxy. In this article we motivate ISM studies in the infrared and the construction of large specialized observatories like the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which just concluded its mission on a scientific high note, and the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that just begun its exciting scientific mission. We introduce their capabilities, present a few examples of their scientific discoveries and discuss how they complemented each other. We then consider the impact of the conclusion of SOFIA for the field in a historic context and look at new opportunities specifically for far-infrared observatories in space and in the stratosphere.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2301.05808,
title = {Current and Future Space and Airborne Observatories for ISM Studies},
author = {Bernhard Schulz and Margaret Meixner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.05808},
year = {2023}
}