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Night-vision telescope promises new discoveries

Sky to be mapped in infrared: NASA

Never-before-seen objects could soon be uncovered as NASA unveils a new telescope that will map the entire sky in infrared. NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which was brought to the launch pad last week, is expected to find everything from cool, failed stars in nearby space to far more intense, 10-billion-year-old starburst galaxies. It will also be able to pinpoint asteroids and comets, distinguishing them from further stars, and should find about 100,000 new asteroids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter, as well as hundreds more that come close to Earth. WISE will also be able to see dark objects, now almost impossible to find with ground-based telescopes, since they radiate heat the telescope will pick up.

New Scientist

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