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First Image Demonstrates the Capabilities of SOFIA’s New Instrument

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NASA

Jan 03, 2017
Image Article
This image shows how dust grains are aligned in the W3 star-forming region, a giant molecular cloud.
This is the first polarization image from SOFIA’s (the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) new infrared camera and polarimeter, known as the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-plus (HAWC+).

This is the first polarization image from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy’s new infrared camera and polarimeter, known as the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-plus (HAWC+). Polarimeters measure the alignment of incoming light waves, enabling HAWC+ to map magnetic fields in star forming regions.

This image shows how dust grains are aligned in the W3 star-forming region, a giant molecular cloud in the constellation Cassiopeia approximately 6,200 light years from Earth. Researchers are now comparing data from these observations with models that predict how stars form.

HAWC+ is the only currently operating astronomical camera that makes images using far-infrared light (from 40 to 300 microns), allowing studies of the low-temperature, early states of star and planet formation. More observations with this instrument are currently underway. (NASA/SOFIA/Caltech/Darren Dowell)

For more information on HAWC+, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/2hW4rdv

For more information on SOFIA, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/2g3v8Mp