![]() Pinilla-Alonso is among a handful of scientists already guaranteed time on JWST once it is place. ![]() She studies Trans-Neptunian Objects at UCF’s Florida Space Institute and contributed to the paper alongside institute post-doctoral scholar Estela Fernández-Valenzuela. Noemí Pinilla-Alonso said astronomy is based on patience and collaboration. All important to understand why our solar system turned out the way it did.” Spitzer was not only great for the solar system, but it was great for studying exoplanets, great for studying planet formation, and great for studying star formation. More philosophically, Spitzer has brought us closer to those big questions about why the solar system and Earth are here in the first place. “These space telescopes are taxpayer-funded, after all. “I think these papers demonstrate the return on investment for Spitzer,” Fernandez said. UCF Professor Yan Fernandez, who specializes in comets, said the papers include some of the projects he is most proud off in his career. The much-delayed JWST, which will likewise study the infrared cosmos, is expected to build on the extensive results provided by Spitzer, including taking the next step in our study of the solar system. Spitzer even managed to discover a new ring of Saturn. Thanks to observations by Spitzer over the years, scientists gained new insights into, for example, the composition of comets, the icy surfaces of cold, distant bodies beyond Neptune, the heat radiation given off by asteroids, the extent of free-floating dust in the inner solar system, and the composition and properties of the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. When Spitzer launched in 2003 it contained infrared detectors of unprecedented sensitivity, providing astronomers a never-before-possible look at the universe. The team includes three University of Central Florida researchers, who offer suggestions for the next space telescope mission.ĭavid Trilling, a planetary scientist and professor at Northern Arizona University, is the lead author on the second paper. The authors were selected based on the significant discoveries they made using Spitzer during its 16-year mission. Lisse, a planetary astronomer passionately interested in how our solar system formed and evolved, put together the team of 27 authors who penned the legacy papers. Lisse, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, lead author of one paper. ![]() “The Spitzer Space Telescope made many important discoveries in the solar system during its 16 year-long mission, and it is important to capture the highlights of these with useful reference, to see how modern astronomy advances and for future scientists to use in their research,” says Carey M. To understand the significance of the Spitzer Space Telescope on the understanding of our solar system, think of what the steam engine meant for the industrial revolution.Ī national team of scientists today published in the journal Nature Astronomy two papers that provide an inventory of the major discoveries made possible thanks to Spitzer and offer guidance on where the next generation of explorers should point the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) when it launches in October 2021. ![]()
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