Spitzer gone ... waiting for Webb

I have to admit that I am not as au fait with what's happening in astronomy these days as I should be; especially since infrared astronomy, once the new kid on the block, is where most of the action now occurs.

The end of January saw the decommissioning of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. At about 1430 PDT on Thursday January 30th, JPL reported ...

...the spacecraft was placed in safe mode, ceasing all science operations. After the decommissioning was confirmed, Spitzer Project Manager Joseph Hunt declared the mission had officially ended.

We now have to wait until March next year for the James Webb telescope to launch and the next phase will begin.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Ends Mission of Astronomical Discovery