Dr. Kimberly Ennico Smith

What’s up tonight for this flying observatory? We’re looking at the Central Molecular Zone, the region around the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, young protostars, massive young stellar objects, and the “stuff between the stars,” called the Diffuse Interstellar Medium.

The Center of the Milky Way Galaxy as seen while flying at 40,000 feet.

As with any SOFIA flight, there is a timeline of preparation activities that must be followed to prepare the plane for an observing mission: the aircraft items refuel and coordinate transferring the onboard instruments from ground-based power to the aircraft’s power; the pilots meet to go over departure and arrival options; the scientists discuss the observations planned for the flight. Everyone flying has to be present for the head count at the final mission meeting.

The team meeting before the flight.

Soon it’s time to board and the clock is ticking. I sat in the cockpit for takeoff, this time for departure, and pilots Paul & Dean with flight engineer Moose (Marty) certainly were kept busy with air traffic control. For SOFIA, taking off within a narrow time window is crucial for the flight’s success in because each turn of the flight is planned to the minute to facilitate our scientific observations. If there are delays with takeoff, the mission directors need to work with the pilots to alter our path to get back on schedule. It was a fine balance and Paul & Dean handled it smoothly.

The flight plan showing where we flew during our observations.

This flight plan took us very south — we reached 64.534 degrees south latitude and were delighted to see a show of the southern lights, the Aurora Australis!

Southern Lights, seen from SOFIA while flying at 63 degrees south and 170 degrees east. (Kimberly Ennico Smith)

At the end of the 10+ hour flight, the science team disembarked with high-quality data thanks to the very low water vapor at 43,000 feet. Water vapor blocks infrared light from reaching the ground, but SOFIA flies above 99% of it. This data should provide new insights into the role of atomic gas in extreme conditions, like those at our galactic center, in jets and outflows of protostars, and in the regions of massive young stellar objects.