Making Astronomy Accessible for Students with
Visual Impairments Through NASA's Airborne
Astronomy Ambassador Program
Jeffrey Killebrew, Science Teacher, TVI, The New Mexico
School for the Blind & Visually Impaired
JKillebrew@nmsbvi.k12.nm.us
For countless generations, humans have looked skyward to explore and
explain the tiny dots of light seemingly suspended above us. From early
visages of mythological creatures to modern day cosmology we have sought
to find our place in the universe and understand "what's out there." We have
learned to build increasingly powerful telescopes for both ground and space-
based observatories which have given astronomers powerful tools that peer
deep into the cosmos, revealing mysteries that were unthought-of just a
generation ago. Yet there are limitations for these platforms.
Enter the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.
The result of an 80/20 partnership between NASA and the German
Aerospace Center (DLR), SOFIA is the world's largest flying observatory.
This extensively modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carries a 2.5-meter telescope
43,000 feet above earth's surface to explore the heavens in infrared light,
which is invisible to the human eye. This unseen universe cannot be
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