GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer)
An orbiting space telescope that observes galaxies in ultraviolet
light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. The data it returns is
expected to lead to a better understanding of how galaxies evolve and change
(see galaxy formation). Additionally,
GALEX probes the causes of star formation
during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their
origins. It is equipped with a 50-cm telescope sensitive in the region 130-300
nanometers and an efficient spectroscope
that can obtain the spectra of about 100,000 galaxies per year. Led by the
California Institute of Technology, GALEX will conduct several first-of-a-kind
sky surveys, including an extragalactic ultraviolet all-sky survey. During
its 29-month mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a
Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing us closer to understanding
how galaxies like our own Milky Way were formed. Other partners in the project
include NASA, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), the Orbital Science Corporation,
and various universities in California, France, and Japan. GALEX is the
sixth SMEX (Small Explorer) mission.
| launch date |
April 28, 2003 |
| launch vehicle |
Pegasus XL |
| launch site |
Vandenberg Air Force Base |
| orbit |
694 × 700 km × 29.0° |
| mass |
280 kg |
Related category
• SATELLITES
AND SPACE PROBES
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