OPTICAL / INFRARED ESO

ESO will put together the telescope optical / infrared world's largest. At its meeting today in Gracing, ESO Council has approved [1] the program of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), pending the confirmation of four ad referendum votes. The E-ELT will start with the science operations early next decade.

Infrared Astronomy

The technical approaching of Spitzer is attached in four basic physical values that define the importance of IR in the investigation of astrophysical phenomena. The infrared region is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and ranges from 1 micron (near infrared) to 200 microns (far infrared). Human eyes are only sensitive to light between 0.4 and 0.7 microns.

Infrared observations expose cool state of matter.

Solid objects in space - from the size of a grain of interstellar dust (less than a micron) to the giant planets - have temperatures ranging from 3 to 1500 degrees Kelvin (K). 

From the Hubble Space Telescope the smaller wavelength infrared

Providing wavelength coverage from 3 to 180 microns, Spitzer is an important addition to scientific Hubble Space Telescope (English) and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (English). The smaller wavelength infrared (near-infrared) can see through regions heavily obscured by dust, so that astronomers can study newborn stars. The long wavelengths (far infrared) are very useful for studying the distribution of dust in the Milky Way, an important ingredient for the formation of planets and stars

About 80% of Spitzer observing time will be available to the wider scientific community, through a contest organized observing proposals by the Spitzer Science Center.