74 ASTRONOMY • JANUARY 2020
BREAKTHROUGH
A BEAUTIFUL SWAN SONG
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has lived a long and productive life. Launched into solar orbit August 25, 2003, Spitzer
studies cosmic infrared radiation, which penetrates dust and reveals regions hidden to optical telescopes. Its primary
mission lasted until its liquid-helium coolant ran out in May 2009, leaving two of the telescope’s three instruments
inoperable. But part of Spitzer’s third instrument was able to soldier on. Sadly, NASA plans to shut the observatory down
January 30, 2020. This stunning image from the Spitzer archives shows the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) in Cygnus
the Swan. It combines observations in visible light (in blue) with Spitzer infrared data (in green, orange, and red). NASA/JPL-CALTECH