and, with the Hubble Space Telescope,
discovering that the most distant galaxies
known are more massive and mature
than expected.
Looking ahead, the observatory is
expected to play an important part in
the search for appropriate targets for
President Barack Obama’s goal of boots
on an asteroid by the middle of the next
decade. In October 2013, Spitzer was
tasked to perform infrared observations
of a small near-Earth asteroid, known
as 2009 DB, to better determine its size
and composition and assess its suitability
for NASA’s capture and redirect mission
plan. “President Obama’s goal of visiting
an asteroid by 2025 combines NASA’s
diverse talents in a unified endeavour,”
said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate
administrator for science in Washington,
D.C. “Using Spitzer to help us characterise
asteroids and potential targets for an
asteroid mission advances both science
and exploration.”
Only three Great Observatories
currently remain in orbit and in operational
service. The Hubble Space Telescope,
This glowing emerald nebula seen by Spitzer is reminiscent of the
glowing ring wielded by the superhero Green Lantern. Astronomers
believe rings like this are actually sculpted by the powerful light of
giant “O