NASA’s solar powered telescope to save the earth from rogue heavenly bodies!

The WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) has been launched by NASA. This infrared telescope is powered by solar energy and will search the skies for destructive comets and asteroids headed towards the earth. This telescope joins the team of NASA’s other two telescopes, Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory that are currently in space. But unlike the rest, the WISE will only search for comets and asteroids that threaten the earth’s fate. This satellite will be in space for the next 9 months and will scan the entire sky above 1.5 times and capture pictures every 11 seconds!

This data will be downloaded back home 4 times a day and will use radio transmissions for data transfer from the satellite to earth-based computers. At the end of it all, NASA hopes to complete the jigsaw of the skies with a complete picture of all the comets and asteroids in the skies.



[Inhabitat]