description Amy Mainzer Overview
Amy Mainzer is an American astronomer and planetary scientist who specializes in infrared astronomy and the detection of near-Earth objects. She serves as the principal investigator for NASA's NEOWISE mission, which utilizes a space telescope to discover and track asteroids and comets. She is also leading the development of the NEO Surveyor mission, a next-generation infrared space telescope designed to identify potentially hazardous asteroids.
help Amy Mainzer FAQ
What is Amy Mainzer's role in the NEOWISE mission?
Amy Mainzer is the principal investigator for NASA's NEOWISE mission. The mission uses a space telescope to detect and track near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets.
Why does infrared astronomy help Amy Mainzer study asteroids?
Infrared observations can reveal heat from an asteroid, helping researchers estimate properties such as its size even when its visible brightness is misleading. This makes infrared data valuable for NASA's near-Earth-object surveys.
How is Amy Mainzer's work connected to planetary defense?
Her NEOWISE research helps identify and characterize objects whose orbits bring them near Earth's neighborhood. NASA uses this kind of asteroid detection and tracking as part of the broader planetary-defense effort.
What is the connection between NEOWISE and WISE?
NEOWISE is a near-Earth-object mission built around NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, known as WISE. Mainzer's work uses that infrared space-telescope heritage for asteroid and comet detection.
explore Explore More
Similar to Amy Mainzer
ui.x_see_all arrow_forward
Reviews & Comments
Write a Review
Be the first to review
Share your thoughts with the community and help others make better decisions.
