The Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) is the primary
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
for the
infrared and
submillimeter astronomical
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
projects of
NASA, the space agency of the
United States. IRSA curates the science products of over 15 missions, including the
Spitzer Space Telescope, the
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the
Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), and the
Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). It also serves data from infrared and submillimeter
European Space Agency missions with
NASA participation, including the
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO),
Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical ...
, and the
Herschel Space Observatory. , IRSA provides access to more than 1
petabyte of data consisting of roughly 1 trillion astronomical measurements, which span wavelengths from 1 micron to 10 millimeters and include
all-sky coverage in 24 bands. Approximately 10% of all refereed astronomical journal articles cite data sets curated by IRSA.
IRSA is part of the
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) and is located on the campus of the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
. It is one of NASA's Astrophysics Data Centers, along with the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), the
Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes The Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) is an astronomical data archive. The archive brings together data from the visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelength regimes. The NASA funded project is located at the Space Telescope Scie ...
(MAST), and others.
References
External links
Infrared Science ArchiveInfrared Processing and Analysis Center
Astronomical databases
Government databases in the United States
Infrared imaging
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