NASA’s NEOWISE Spacecraft Re-Enters Atmosphere, But More Discoveries Await!

NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) spacecraft re-entered and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on Friday night, as expected. Launched in 2009 as the WISE mission, the spacecraft has been mapping the entire sky at infrared wavelengths over and over for nearly fifteen years. During that time, more than one hundred thousand amateur […]

Nov 5, 2024 - 02:00
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NASA’s NEOWISE Spacecraft Re-Enters Atmosphere, But More Discoveries Await!
A collage of space-themed citizen science project logos, including 'Milky Way Project,' 'Exoplanet Explorers,' 'Cool Neighbors,' 'Disk Detective,' and 'Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.
Citizen science projects enabled by data from the WISE and NEOWISE missions have given hundreds of thousands around the world the opportunity to make new discoveries. The projects can be done by anyone with a laptop and internet access and are available in fifteen languages. No U.S. citizenship required.

NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) spacecraft re-entered and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on Friday night, as expected. Launched in 2009 as the WISE mission, the spacecraft has been mapping the entire sky at infrared wavelengths over and over for nearly fifteen years. During that time, more than one hundred thousand amateur scientists have used these data in citizen science projects like the Milky Way Project, Disk Detective, Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors, and Exoasteroids. 

This citizen science work has led to more than 55 scientific publications. Highlights include:

Although the spacecraft is no longer in orbit, there is plenty of work to do. The WISE/NEOWISE data contain trillions of detections of astronomical sources – enough to keep projects like Disk Detective, Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors, and Exoasteroids busy making new discoveries for years to come. Join one of these projects today to help unravel the mysteries of the infrared universe!

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Last Updated
Nov 04, 2024

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