HAVE SCOPE, WILL TRAVEL

摘要

Ground-based telescopes have to look through dense air that distorts images, and orbiting observatories like Hubble are difficult to maintain. A compromise: Sofia, a telescope that will look out from an opening in a 747 cruising at 45,000 feet. Its optics will be pre-chilled to avoid condensation when the bay opens at cold high altitudes, and rubber bumpers will damp out vibrations. The eight-foot-diameter scope will provide clearer images than the best ground observatories— and do it from any vantage point in the world.