Discoveries made by Infrared Telescopes

Discoveries Made by Infrared Telescopes:

            An Infrared Telescopes main purpose is to pick up the source of heat. This has led to two such discoveries. In 2009, the Spitzer Space Telescope discovered an enormous ring around Saturn, the largest one yet. It is thought that the discovery of this ring may help solve the mystery of Lapetus. Lapetus is one of the many moons of Saturn. But what makes it so special is that it is similar to the Yin-Yang symbol (1).

Also in 2009, NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and the W.M Keck Telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, discovered Methane in the atmosphere of Mars, which proves that the red planet is either biologically or geologically active, or both (2).

Sources

1.      http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer-20091006.html

2.      http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/jan/HQ_09-006_Mars_Methane.html