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Loading contentOrbiting observatories that study the universe from above the atmosphere.
The European Space Agency's Ariel is the first mission dedicated to surveying the atmospheres of a large, diverse sample of known exoplanets — around a thousand — chiefly by transmission and emission spectroscopy at infrared wavelengths. Selected as ESA's fourth medium-class mission and planned for launch in 2029, it aims to link atmospheric composition to how and where planets form.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a NASA space telescope launched in 1999 that observes the universe in X-ray wavelengths.
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000) was one of NASA's Great Observatories, mapping the gamma-ray sky and studying gamma-ray bursts.
Euclid is ESA's mission to map the geometry of the dark universe, surveying billions of galaxies to study dark matter and dark energy.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the entire gamma-ray sky every few hours, studying pulsars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursts.
An ESA space observatory charting the positions, distances, and motions of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way.
Herschel was ESA's far-infrared and submillimeter observatory (2009–2013), with the largest single mirror ever flown in space at the time.
Hinode is a Japanese-led solar observatory studying the Sun's magnetic field and corona in visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray light.
The Kepler Space Telescope was a NASA space observatory launched in 2009 that discovered thousands of exoplanets by monitoring stars for transit dimming.
A NASA infrared space telescope designed for wide-field surveys of dark energy and exoplanets.
ESA's Planck mission (2009–2013) mapped the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision, refining the age and composition of the universe.
PLATO is a European Space Agency mission that will hunt for terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of bright, Sun-like stars using an array of small telescopes to watch for transits, while asteroseismology of the host stars pins down their ages and sizes. Selected as ESA's third medium-class mission, it is planned for launch in 2026.
SOHO, a joint ESA–NASA mission, has studied the Sun from the L1 point since 1995 and is also the most prolific discoverer of comets.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun continuously in many wavelengths, capturing the dynamics of solar activity in extraordinary detail.
The Spitzer Space Telescope was a NASA infrared space observatory operating from 2003 to 2020.
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is a NASA space telescope launched in 2018 that surveys nearby bright stars to detect transiting exoplanets.
TRACE (1998–2010) imaged the Sun's transition region and corona in ultraviolet light, revealing the fine structure of magnetic loops.
WISE surveyed the entire sky in infrared light, cataloguing hundreds of millions of objects and, as NEOWISE, tracking near-Earth asteroids.