Infrared astronomy

Infrared astronomy studies celestial objects and phenomena by detecting infrared radiation, revealing cool sources and regions obscured at visible wavelengths.

Infrared radiation: Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light and shorter than microwave radiation. It is the signal infrared astronomy detects and analyzes.
Interstellar dust: Tiny solid particles dispersed between stars that absorb and scatter light. Longer infrared wavelengths pass through dusty regions more effectively than visible light.
Infrared Astronomical Satellite: A 1983 space telescope that conducted the first all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths. Its survey discovered thousands of infrared sources and established the value of observing beyond the atmosphere.
Optical astronomy: Astronomy that detects celestial radiation in the visible-light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is often blocked by dust that infrared observations can penetrate.
William Herschel: An astronomer who discovered infrared radiation in 1800 while measuring sunlight beyond the red end of the visible spectrum. His experiment established that radiation invisible to the eye could be studied scientifically.
Infrared detector: A device that converts incoming infrared radiation into a measurable electrical signal. Its sensitivity and operating temperature determine which faint infrared sources an observatory can detect.
Star formation: The process by which dense regions of interstellar gas and dust collapse to form stars. Embedded young stars heat their surroundings, producing infrared emission before they become visible.
Spitzer Space Telescope: A NASA space telescope that observed the universe in infrared light from 2003 to 2020. Spitzer mapped dusty star-forming regions and measured distant galaxies without atmospheric interference.
Radio astronomy: Astronomy that studies celestial objects through radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation. Radio observations probe longer wavelengths and different physical processes than infrared observations.
Charles Greeley Abbot: An American astrophysicist who measured solar radiation and helped develop infrared observational techniques. His solar measurements helped make infrared detection a practical astronomical method.

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