Space Telescopes

Ariel (exoplanet mission)

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.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a NASA space telescope launched in 1999 that observes the universe in X-ray wavelengths.

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

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

Euclid is ESA's mission to map the geometry of the dark universe, surveying billions of galaxies to study dark matter and dark energy.

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the entire gamma-ray sky every few hours, studying pulsars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursts.

Gaia

An ESA space observatory charting the positions, distances, and motions of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way.

Herschel Space Observatory

Herschel was ESA's far-infrared and submillimeter observatory (2009–2013), with the largest single mirror ever flown in space at the time.

Hinode

Hinode is a Japanese-led solar observatory studying the Sun's magnetic field and corona in visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray light.

Hubble Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope

Kepler Space Telescope

The Kepler Space Telescope was a NASA space observatory launched in 2009 that discovered thousands of exoplanets by monitoring stars for transit dimming.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

A NASA infrared space telescope designed for wide-field surveys of dark energy and exoplanets.

Planck

ESA's Planck mission (2009–2013) mapped the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision, refining the age and composition of the universe.

PLATO (exoplanet mission)

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

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.

Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun continuously in many wavelengths, capturing the dynamics of solar activity in extraordinary detail.

Spitzer Space Telescope

The Spitzer Space Telescope was a NASA infrared space observatory operating from 2003 to 2020.

TESS

TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is a NASA space telescope launched in 2018 that surveys nearby bright stars to detect transiting exoplanets.

TRACE

TRACE (1998–2010) imaged the Sun's transition region and corona in ultraviolet light, revealing the fine structure of magnetic loops.

WISE

WISE surveyed the entire sky in infrared light, cataloguing hundreds of millions of objects and, as NEOWISE, tracking near-Earth asteroids.