
Before a star forms they are just dust and gas - by using infrared scientists can now look at these particles and find out how stars are made and planes like the one in the BBC Earth Science video have been used infrared to observe the invisible.
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, was a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a 2.7-meter reflecting telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters). Flying into the stratosphere at about 5 kilometeres up put SOFIA above 99% of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. SOFIA was made possible through a partnership between NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR.