Nasa sky-mapping telescope launched

2009-12-15
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Nasa has placed its latest telescope in orbit to look out for cosmic objects such as asteroids and comets which may be potentially dangerous to Earth.

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Nasa has placed its latest telescope in orbit to look out for cosmic objects such as asteroids and comets which may be potentially dangerous to Earth.

A Delta II rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carried the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or Wise, into the sky.

Wise will stay 326 miles above the Earth while observing the universe using an infrared camera. It will map the sky nearly one-and-a-half times, capturing an image every 11 seconds.

The aim is to detect light and heat-emitting objects that may be missed by other telescopes in orbit, such as the Hubble.

Edward Wright of the University of California, Los Angeles, the principal investigator of the mission, explained the last such project that mapped the sky on these wavelengths was sent out 26 years ago.

In 1983, Wise's predecessor, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, was launched. It discovered six comets during its lifetime.

Mr Wright added: "Infrared technology has come a long way since then. The old all-sky infrared pictures were like impressionist paintings - now, we'll have images that look like actual photographs."

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