A Day in Astronomy: Launch of the Galex Space Telescope

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the GALEX space telescope orbiting Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

On this day in 2003, NASA air-launched the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) via a Pegasus launch vehicle. It was an active orbiting space telescope for the next nine years, observing the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to learn more about star formation in the universe.

Some of the highlights of the GALEX mission include:

  • Discovering a gargantuan, comet-like tail behind a speeding star called Mira;
  • Catching a black hole “red-handed” as it munched on a star;
  • Finding giant rings of new stars around old, dead galaxies;
  • Independently confirming the nature of dark energy; and
  • Discovering a missing link in galaxy evolution — the teenage galaxies transitioning from young to old.