Hidden Universe: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

Witness our universe in a whole new way! This video series highlights some of the most exciting discoveries from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. In-depth ‘Showcase’ features, striking ‘Gallery Explorer’ montages, and other whimsical specials take you beyond the visible to a universe of dust and stars hidden from Earth-bound eyes. Spitzer is the infrared component of the NASA Great Observatory program which also includes Hubble (visible), Chandra (x-ray), and Compton (gamma ray).

Latest Episodes:

Homes Away From Home? Revisiting the Seven Planets of TRAPPIST-1 Feb 22, 2018

Show notes

One year ago, astronomers announced the discovery that seven roughly Earth-sized worlds orbited around the nearby star TRAPPIST-1. Now a year later, additional data have refined our understanding of these planets.We now know more about the TRAPPIST-1 system than any other solar system other than our own.

Improving Brown Dwarf Weather Forecasts Aug 17, 2017

Show notes

This artist's concept animation shows a brown dwarf with bands of clouds, thought to resemble those seen on Neptune and the other outer planets in the solar system.

5000 Days in the Life of an Astronomy Robot May 03, 2017

Show notes

May 3rd, 2017 marks the 5,000th day of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission. This video gives us a detailed look at six of these days, showing how an automated observatory like Spitzer, which is effectively an astronomy robot, spends its time. It’s overall mission design allows for an unprecedented degree of efficiency, allowing it to study the full range of astronomical phenomena including nearby objects in the solar system, stars in our galaxy, and galaxies out to the edge of the observable universe.

Spitzer Beyond Aug 26, 2016

Show notes

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which launched Aug. 25, 2003, will begin an extended mission—the “Beyond” phase—on Oct. 1, 2016.

The Wild Temperature Swings of an Exoplanet Mar 28, 2016

Show notes

The exoplanet HD80606 b spends most of its time far from its star, but every 111 days it swings in feverishly close. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope measured the planet's extreme temperature swings using infrared light. This allowed astronomers to simulate its atmosphere.

Catching a GLIMPSE of the Milky Way Mar 20, 2014

Show notes

Welcome home! This is our Milky Way galaxy as you’ve never seen it before. Ten years in the making, this is the clearest infrared panorama of our galactic home ever made, courtesy of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

10 Years of Innovation Aug 23, 2013

Show notes

On August 25, 2003, NASA launched the Spitzer Space Telescope to reveal secrets of the infrared universe.

Possible Nearby Exoplanet Smaller than Earth (Update) Aug 07, 2012

Show notes

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected what they believe is an alien world just two-thirds the size of Earth - one of the smallest on record!

Cygnus X Marks the Spot (Gallery Explorer) May 21, 2012

Show notes

Over the last half century this Cygnus X has been yielding its secrets to the scrutiny of infrared observations. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has now provided the best view yet of what we now know is one of the largest single areas of star formation in our Milky Way galaxy.

The Galactic Center Revisited (Hidden Universe Gallery Explorer) Aug 23, 2011

Show notes

Hiding behind the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius is the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, over 25,000 light years away. This patch of sky is mostly dark in visible light, shrouded by dust clouds that lie between us and the Galactic center. But the infrared vision of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope sees through the dust showing us this strange and tumultuous region.

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Hidden Universe: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope

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