In recent celestial news, NASA has announced that the NEOWISE telescope, also known as the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, has officially powered down after nearly 15 remarkable years in service. And what a journey it has been!
NEOWISE was no ordinary telescope—it had the unique ability to detect near-Earth objects by picking up on infrared signals. Over its lifetime, it scanned the entire sky 23 times, observing more than 190,000 solar system objects. From spotting Earth’s first known Trojan asteroid to discovering brown dwarfs, NEOWISE was a true cosmic explorer. Originally designed as a scanning tool, it was later repurposed into a planetary protector, keeping an eye out for potentially hazardous asteroids.
So, why did NEOWISE retire? The sun’s increased activity was causing the spacecraft to slow down and lose its orbit. But don’t worry—a new mission called Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is set to take its place. “While we’re getting ready to say goodbye to NEOWISE, we’re looking forward to getting its powerful successor up into space in a few years,” said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator for both NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor.
As we bid farewell to NEOWISE, we can look back at its final image of the cosmos and eagerly anticipate the next chapter in our exploration of the universe.
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