[Previous] | [Session 36] | [Next]
G.J. Stacey (Cornell University)
The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) consists of a cooled 0.85 meter aperture telescope and three science instruments with spectroscopic, imaging, and photometric capabilities in the 3 to 180 um band. SIRTF's state of the art detectors promise to deliver orders of magnitude improvements in sensitivities over past facilities, so that many new discoveries are likely.
The author will discuss methods of probing the interstellar medium in galaxies with SIRTF. These observations will reveal the physical properties of the ISM, which directly relates to the sources of energy in galaxies: stars, and star formation, active galactic nuclei, and galactic collisions. The author will draw on recent models and observations, especially those observations performed on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), and with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), to discuss several of the more exciting extragalactic projects that SIRTF can explore. Topics include: (1) the interstellar medium in low metalicity dwarf galaxies, quiescent spiral, and starburst galaxies; (2) the properties of ultraluminous IRAS galaxies; and (3) infrared bright galaxies in the early Universe.