WISE



Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is a NASA infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope launched in December 2009,and placed in hibernation in February 2011 when its transmitter turned off. It was re-activated in 2013.Its observations supported the discovery of the first Y Dwarf and Earth trojan asteroid, tens of thousands of new asteroids, and numerous previously undiscovered star clusters.

WISE performed an all-sky astronomical survey with images in 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 μm wavelength range bands, over ten months using a 40 cm (16 in) diameter infrared telescope in Earth orbit. After its hydrogen coolant depleted, a four-month mission extension called NEOWISE was conducted to search for small Solar System bodies close to Earth's orbit (e.g. hazardous comets and asteroids) using its remaining capability.

The All-Sky data including processed images, source catalogs and raw data, was released to the public on March 14, 2012, and is available at the Infrared Science Archive. In August 2013, NASA announced it would reactivate the WISE telescope for a new three-year mission to search for asteroids that could collide with Earth. Science operations and data processing for WISE and NEOWISE take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.