[NASA] By studying radiant energy that only emerges in the far-infrared, PRIMA will address a wide range of questions about the universe.
PRIMA
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Detecting Water Ice And Vapor Disks Originating From Icy Planetary Bodies Around White Dwarfs With Future PRIMA Observations
Observations of atmospheres of polluted white dwarfs provide insights into the elemental composition of accreted exoplanets and exo-asteroids.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Development of Space Qualified Signal Processing Readout Electronics for HabWorlds and Origins Space Telescope Detector and Arrays
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) — a flagship ultraviolet/optical/infrared space telescope recommended by the National Academies’ Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics — will require detector technologies capable of […]
![Plot of predicted peak [Cii] absorption opacity, τ (peak) [CII] , that would be observed at instrumental velocity resolution, against the integration time required to detect that absorption at S/N = 10. Points are plotted for FIRSST, PRIMA, SALTUS, and Origins proposed FIR telescopes. For each telescope, we plot values corresponding to the 402 diffuse-ISM candidate sightlines identified in Section 2.2.. Additionally highlighted is the region of parameter space occupied by the 3 sightlines targeted by our SOFIA-upGREAT study; these values correspond to the predicted/notional values given in Table 1 (as both observed sightlines returned null results, due to instrumental or astrophysical artefacts). We mark the parameter space where observations should be most plausible (as discussed in Section 5). Integration times incorporate any additional time required or sky observations of off positions either side of the target sightline. -- astro-ph.GA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Measuring-Interstellar-Carbon-Abundance.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Measuring Interstellar Carbon Abundance via 158 um [CII] Absorption with SOFIA
Carbon plays key roles in the InterStellar Medium (ISM) — as a constituent of dust, as the carrier of the dominant far-infrared cooling line, and as a component of various […]