science and data center for infrared astronomy

 
ABOUT IPAC
MISSIONS & PROGRAMS
SCIENCE RESEARCH
EDUCATION & OUTREACH

Data Archives and Tools

+ NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA)
+ NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)
+ Spitzer Data Archive
+ NExScI Archives
+ NASA/IPAC/NExScI Star and Exoplanet
   Database (NStED)

+ Keck Observatory Archive
+ Additional Tools

Science Support Centers

+ Spitzer Science Center (SSC)
+ NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI)
+ NASA Herschel Science Center (NHSC)

Science Research Projects

+ Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic
   survey (SWIRE)

+ Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey
   (SINGS)

+ MIPS Galactic Plane Survey
   (MIPSGAL I and II
)
+ Great Observatory All-sky LIRG Survey
   (GOALS)

+ Taurus Spitzer Legacy Project
+ 5 mJy Extragalactic Spectroscopic Survey
+ Dwarf Archives

Operational Missions

+ Spitzer Space Telescope
+ Herschel
+ Planck
+ Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
+ Keck Interferometer (KI)
+ Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

Proposed Missions

+ SIM Lite Astrometric Observatory
+ Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
+ Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

Past Missions

+ Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI)
+ Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)
+ Infrared Space Observatory (ISO)
+ Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE)
+ Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX)
+ InfraRed Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)


Top Stories

Teachers Selected to Conduct NASA Science Research

Fourteen middle school, high school, and community college science teachers have been selected for the NASA/Infrared Processing and Analysis Center Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) nationwide. These individuals and their students will conduct sophisticated astronomy research, make presentations at an internationally renowned astronomy conference, and may publish their work in a scientific journal. +  Learn More

A Quarter Century of Infrared Astronomy

This composite graphic encompasses a quarter century of infrared astronomy from space, a world away from Galileo Galilei's eight-power telescope that was the cutting edge of astronomy 400 years ago. The composite recognizes the International Year of Astronomy and celebrates the dramatic progress in our understanding of the universe derived from infrared observations. It also illustrates some of the contributions from the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) to this progress by way of astronomical data processing, analysis, archiving and dissemination. +  Learn More

Herschel Opens Its Infrared Eyes

The Herschel Space Observatory has snapped its first picture since blasting into space on May 14, 2009. The mission, led by the European Space Agency with important participation from NASA, will use infrared light to explore our cosmic roots, addressing questions of how stars and galaxies are born. The new "sneak preview" image was taken in an early attempt to demonstrate that Herschel works, and, in particular, that its telescope is focused and correctly aligned with the science instruments. It shows the Whirlpool galaxy, which lies relatively nearby, about 35 million light-years away, in the constellation Canes Venatici. +  Learn More

Featured Presentation


An Infrared Search for Origins

Where did we come from? Are we alone? Using infrared technology, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will help answer these questions and more. Infrared telescopes allow us to study celestial objects too hidden, too distant or too cool for us to see using other means. These hidden worlds, once revealed, may give us clues to the origins of the universe. Learn more by viewing + Watch Now.

IPAC Legacy Gallery Highlight

The familiar winter sky constellation Orion takes on a spectacular guise in the infrared, as seen in this false-color image constructed from data collected by IRAS--the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. New processing techniques have been used to enhance faint details and remove the instrumental artifacts seen in earlier IRAS images. + Learn More

Education Highlight


What will happen to the Earth when the Sun dies?

Our Sun has been steadily fusing hydrogen into helium for the last 5 billion years, and astronomers predict that it will continue to do the same thing for another 5 billion years, until it runs out of hydrogen. But what happens then? Does the Sun just turn off? Learn more by watching the latest video from our award winning Ask an Astronomer series: +  Watch Now

Announcements

The Winter 2008/2009 IPAC Newsletter is now online.

Decadal Survey 2010 information and updates

NASA announces 2009 Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellows

Seminars/Talks