International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics

14^th  Course: "Neutrinos and Explosive Events in the Universe"

A NATO Advanced Study Institute

 2-13 July 2004
Ettore Majorana Centre
Erice, Sicily, Italy

Topic: Recent Results from the Spitzer Space Telescope:  A New View of the Infrared Universe
Lecturer: Giovanni G. Fazio

The Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA's Great Observatory for infrared exploration, was launched on August 25, 2003, into a heliocentric orbit, trailing the Earth. The telescope consists of an 85-cm cryogenically-cooled mirror and three focal-plane instruments, which provide background-limited imaging and spectroscopy covering the spectral region from 3 to 180 microns wavelength.  Following 90 days of In-Orbit-Checkout and 30 days of Science Verification, normal operations began on December 1, 2003.  All spacecraft systems continue to operate extremely well. The Spitzer Space Telescope has an expected lifetime of 5 to 6 years.  After a brief mission overview, early scientific results from galactic and extragalactic  observations will be presented, including spectacular images and spectra produced by the three instruments. Opportunities for proposing for the Spitzer Space Telescope will also be discussed.  More than 75% of the observing time will be available for General Observers.