20170029_0004

© Nicolas BAKER/IRAP/NASA/CNRS Images

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20170029_0004

Masque à oxygène utilisé à bord du Boeing 747 SOFIA en cas de dépressurisation ou d'incendie

Research scientist equipped with one of the five oxygen masks to be used in the event of depressurisation or fire aboard the Boeing 747 SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). SOFIA is equipped with a telescope whose mirror measures 2.5 m in diameter. This NASA flying observatory, based in Palmdale California, flies by night at high altitude (up to approximately 14 km) to observe the stars in infrared from the stratosphere. During this mission in February 2017, SOFIA enabled observation of the Orion Nebula, the region nearest to the solar system in which massive stars form. A map of Orion will thus be produced to characterise the dynamics of gases from observations of carbon ion emissions, very abundant in regions of star formation.

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