Science & Data Center for
Astrophysics & Planetary Sciences

Our Mission

IPAC at Caltech partners with NASA, NSF, JPL and the world-wide research community to advance exploration of our Universe. Beginning with the IRAS mission in 1985 and spanning to Spitzer today, we have enabled transformative research of the infrared sky. We provide science operations, user support, data services, and scientific vision to maximize discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground. We share these discoveries with the public through education outreach programs and award-winning media. Our diverse community of active researchers is dedicated and essential to fulfilling this mission.

Archives & Data Science

Missions & Centers

In Development

Mission Studies & Proposals

Science at IPAC

Our community of active researchers is key to the strategic development and execution of all programs supported by IPAC. IPAC scientific staff are engaged in research spanning a broad range of fields in astrophysics and planetary sciences. Areas of special focus include exoplanets; dark energy and cosmology; star formation and galaxy evolution; asteroids and the solar system; and the area in which IPAC has provided leadership for over three decades -- exploration of the infrared and sub-mm universe.

Featured Research

Science Collaborations

Science at IPAC

Astronomers' Discovery Sheds New Light On Famous Einstein Ring

Project News • June 1st, 2020

Determined to find a needle in a cosmic haystack, a pair of astronomers time traveled through archives of old data from W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauankea in Hawaii and old X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to unlock a mystery surrounding a bright, lensed, heavily obscured quasar.

US Archival Science with Euclid

Panel Discussion • June 8th, 2020

IPAC will host an online panel discussion, "US Archival Science with Euclid", on June 8, 2020 at 11am PDT to discuss future opportunities for US-based archival science with Euclid. To register, please email the ENSCI helpdesk (ensci-support@ipac.caltech.edu).

NASA Telescope Named For ‘Mother of Hubble’ Nancy Grace Roman

Project News • May 20th, 2020

NASA is naming its next-generation space telescope currently under development, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer, who paved the way for space telescopes focused on the broader universe.

Message from the Director

IPAC News • May 15th, 2020

Dear Colleagues and Friends, Like the rest of the science ecosystem, we at IPAC have been adapting to the challenges of the time, protecting the health and safety of our staff while pursuing our mission of advancing the exploration of the universe.

A Tale of Two Telescopes: WFIRST and Hubble

Project News • April 20th, 2020

NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), planned for launch in the mid-2020s, will create enormous cosmic panoramas. Using them, astronomers will explore everything from our solar system to the edge of the observable universe, including planets throughout our galaxy and the nature of dark energy.

First Asteroid Found Inside Orbit of Venus

News Release • January 15th, 2020

A rare asteroid orbiting snugly within the inner confines of our solar system has been discovered by Caltech's Zwicky Transient Facility, or ZTF, a survey camera based at Palomar Observatory. The newfound body, named 2020 AV2, is the first asteroid found to orbit entirely within the orbit of Venus.