The SOFIA airborne observatory
The SOFIA airborne observatory
The NASA/DLR SOFIA observatory performs astronomical observations at infrared and submillimetre wavelengths above most of the effects of Earth's atmosphere. With a 2.7-metre primary mirror, SOFIA is the world's largest airborne observatory. This image shows SOFIA during a previous mission in 2013 at Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand. During the southern hemisphere winter, a total of nine research flights were conducted to observe the southern sky with the other German instrument, GREAT.
