Flying high ... for infrared

One of Nasa's longer-running infrared astronomy projects is the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). It uses a pre-loved 747 with a suitable new aperture to fly high and catch infrared radiation from above 99% of atmospheric water vapour.

Not quite flying your Lear Jet to Nova Scotia for a total eclipse of the sun but still pretty cool.

Read about it on the Scientific American blog.