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NASA posted a small, magnificent compilation of some of the cosmic pictures put together using SOFIA data on Thursday, as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) plane took out on its final voyage.
As per NDTV, the SOFIA Telescope, the largest airborne telescope in the world that is housed and flown in a modified Boeing 747 aeroplane, has made 921 flights since 2010, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The flying telescope has flown round trips carrying astronomers in groups, clocking up a lot of air miles in the process. "Sofia has obtained breath-taking observations of a variety of celestial objects while cruising at over 41,000 feet (12,500 m) in the dark of night and twilight of morning," NASA wrote.
In the post, the US space agency explained that the first image is of Centaurus A - a galaxy with orange and dark red dust lanes comprising a centre column and a faint shell of blue along its outskirts.
The second post shows a 3D view of the Orion Nebula, which reveals the detailed structure of the nebula, including a "bubble" that has been blown clear of gas and dust by a powerful stellar wind.