EM Spectrum and Multiwavelenth Astronomy Pamela Harman NASA

EM Spectrum and Multiwavelenth Astronomy Pamela Harman NASA SOFIA EPO SETI Institute Mountain View, CA pharman@seti. org

Agenda • • EM Spectrum Review NASA Astrophysics Observatories, techniques, images Visible Spectra, IR demo, UV beads Resources PPT and Resource Word doc http: //www. sofia. usra. edu/Edu/materials/pr esentations. html •

The Electromagnetic Spectrum Our eyes see only part of the electromagnetic spectrum…

“Invisible” Light in Society Each part of the spectrum impacts our daily lives… UV Sunscreen Communications Microwave ovens Remote controls X-rays

NASA SMD Astrophysics: Discover the origin, structure, evolution, and destiny of the universe, and search for Earth-like planets

The Tools of Our Search We collect light from distant objects, and bring together researchers from many disciplines.

Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Chandra X-ray telescope • http: //chandra. harvard. edu/photo/

NASA Resources

Representative Color

“Invisible” Light in Astronomy Each part of the spectrum provides a piece of the puzzle in understanding our universe.

The Pinwheel Galaxy http: //hubblesite. org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/07

Galaxies: How Do They Form and Evolve? Ellipticals Spirals Huge collections of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity… Irregulars

M 82: A Burst of Star Formation Infrared Visible X-Ray

Centaurus A Infrared Visible X-Ray

Looking Back in Time To find the earliest galaxies, we will need to explore the universe in the infrared.

The Lives of Stars

The Orion Nebula Infrared Visible X-Ray

Our Place in the Universe

Spectra = Signatures

Active Astronomy Lessons Compare and contrast visible & infrared light 1. Overview and pre-test 2. What’s getting through to you? gel filters 3. Seeing the Invisible detector circuits 4. Reflection of Visible and Invisible mirrors and detector circuits 5. Listening to Light detector and transmitter circuits

Visible vs Infrared Images

Resources SOFIA Active Astronomy • http: //www. sofia. usra. edu/Edu/materials/activ e. Astronomy/active. Astronomy. html • SEEK and FLIR smart phone IR cameras • ASP Astro. Shop Noel Encarnacion Inventory and Customer Service Manager service@astrosociety. org • PPT and Resource Word doc http: //www. sofia. usra. edu/Edu/materials/presen ations. html •

Resources • Stanford Solar Center Spectrascopes and Colors of the Sun video (high school for power supply and gas tubes) http: //solar-center. stanford. edu/ Project Spectra http: //lasp. colorado. edu/home/education/ k-12/project-spectra/ NASA Tour of the EM Spectrum • http: //missionscience. nasa. gov/ems/index. html • •

Sponsors for today’s talk • NASA’s SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) Mission • SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA