A NASA infrared space telescope, the third in NASA's Great Observatories program, that observed the universe in infrared light from 2003 to 2020 from an Earth-trailing solar orbit. It revealed cool and dust-obscured objects invisible to optical instruments, including the 2016 discovery of five of the seven known TRAPPIST-1 planets.
Facts
Observatory TypeSpace telescope (infrared) 1 LocationEarth-trailing heliocentric orbit 1 MeasuresMeasured infrared radiation from 3.6 to 160 micrometers, detecting heat signatures invisible to visible-light telescopes. 1 Operating PrincipleOperated with cryogenic cooling down to 5.5 kelvin, keeping its own detectors from swamping the faint infrared signals they were built to detect. 1 Classification
Observing Band Connections
Operated By
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationSpitzer Space Telescope, infobox
Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit
Spitzer Space Telescope, specifications
infrared, 3.6-160 μm
spitzer-space-telescope, entity description, observing band (infrared)
A NASA infrared space telescope, the third in NASA's Great Observatories program, that observed the universe in infrared light from 2003 to 2020 from an Earth-trailing solar orbit.
View the Source Spitzer Space Telescope (Wikipedia)
Spitzer Space Telescope, lead paragraph section
formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)
Spitzer Space Telescope, History section
The US$776 million Spitzer was launched on 25 August 2003
Spitzer Space Telescope, telescope section
cooled to 5.5 K (−268 °C; −450 °F)
In Group: Infrared Space Telescopes, Lead sentence
The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope that was active between 2003 and 2020.
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