SOFIA SN 2014J Observations & Data Release / Other News & Information 1. SOFIA Target of Opportunity: Observing Supernova 2014J 2. SOFIA SN 2014J Data Release 3. SOFIA Recent Milestones and Activities 4. 2014 SOFIA Observers Workshop Cancelled 5. SOFIA Science Teletalk Series 6. Most Recent Message from the NASA Astrophysics Division Director 1. SOFIA Target of Opportunity: Observing Supernova 2014J SOFIA observed Supernova 2014J within Cycle 2 Target of Opportunity and Director's Discretionary Time allocations on February 18, 20, 24, and 26, 2014. SN 2014J in M82 is the brightest and closest Type Ia supernova in the last 40 years. Near-IR observations were performed with FLITECAM (P.I. Ian McLean, UCLA) in both imaging and grism spectroscopy modes during a series of instrument commissioning flights. The supernova was an especially good target for FLITECAM's commissioning because of its relative brightness. SOFIA measured a complete spectrum of the supernova from 1 to 3 microns by flying above more than 99% of atmospheric water vapor, avoiding strong telluric absorption lines in the gap between photometric J and H bands (wavelengths from 1.37 to 1.50 microns) and H and K bands (1.8 to 2.0 microns). The FLITECAM spectrum of SN 2014J is dominated by lines of ionized cobalt-56 that is a product of radioactive decay of nickel-56. More information plus SN 2014J image and spectrum from SOFIA/FLITECAM can be found at: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/News/news_2014/03_03_14/ 2. SOFIA SN 2014J Data Release FLITECAM near-IR image and spectroscopy data regarding SN 2014J are now available to the scientific community. The spectra were obtained under a Cycle 2 Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) award (P. Garnavich, Notre Dame Univ., R. Hamilton, USRA/SOFIA, and R. Gehrz, Univ. of Minnesota). SOFIA DDT observations are available to the scientific community upon arrival of the data into the SOFIA Data Cycle System (DCS) Science Archive. Details about the SN 2014J observations and instructions for accessing the data are available on a dedicated SN 2014J data page: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/proposals/DDT/SN2014J_Data.html Caution: these data were obtained during the final FLITECAM instrument commissioning flights, and at the time of this writing are not yet completely calibrated. Fully processed images and spectra of SN 2014J will be available in the near future, as explained further on the DCS data web page. Please also note that there are plans for approximately eight more hours of SOFIA observations of SN 2014J in April & May 2014 using the FORCAST mid-IR camera with grism (P.I. Terry Herter, Cornell Univ.). FORCAST observations of SN 2014J will also become public immediately upon arrival of the data into the SOFIA DCS Science Archive. 3. SOFIA Recent Milestones and Activities The SOFIA team completed all technical requirements for declaration of Full Operational Capability (FOC), including commissioning of four instruments: the FORCAST mid-IR camera with grism (P.I. Terry Herter, Cornell University), the GREAT sub-millimeter heterodyne spectrometer (P.I. Rolf Guesten, MPIfR), the HIPO high-speed imaging photometer (P.I. Ted Dunham, Lowell Observatory), and the FLITECAM near-IR camera with grism (P.I. Ian McLean, UCLA). Formal achievement of FOC will occur after a HQ review of SOFIA's status during an upcoming KDP-E (Key Decision Point-E). The FIFI-LS far-IR imaging spectrometer (P.I. Alfred Krabbe, German SOFIA Institute, University of Stuttgart) was installed on SOFIA's telescope in early March and successfully conducted the first of two commissioning flight series. The second FIFI-LS commissioning flight series is scheduled for mid- to late April. The EXES high-resolution mid-IR spectrometer (P.I. Matt Richter, Univ. of California, Davis) will undergo commissioning tests and conduct science investigations in early April. 4. 2014 SOFIA Observers' Workshop Cancelled Due to uncertainty following the release of the White House/OMB budget for FY 2015, the SOFIA Observers Workshop, originally scheduled for May 21-22, 2014, has been cancelled. Those who wish to learn more about using SOFIA data are encouraged to visit the SOFIA Science Center or contact the scientific staff via the help desk at: "sofia_help [at] sofia.usra.edu". 5. SOFIA Science Teletalk series Approximately twice per month, the SOFIA Science Community Forum hosts teletalks by scientists on topics relevant to SOFIA's science. These teletalks are currently organized by Dan Lester (Univ. of Texas). For information on how to participate in the teletalks, please join the distribution list by sending a request to: Dan Lester "dfl [at] astro.as.utexas.edu" OR Ravi Sankrit "rsankrit [at] sofia.usra.edu" Upcoming SOFIA teletalks (normally Wednesdays at 9 AM Pacific Time): April 9: Paul Hartogh (MPI for Solar System Research) April 16: Ian McLean (UCLA) April 30: Timea Csengeri (MPI for Radio Astronomy) More and updated information about the teletalks can be found at: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/SCF/index.html 6. Most Recent Message from the NASA Astrophysics Division Director Several times per year, NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz issues a message summarizing the status of NASA's astrophysics missions and programs. The latest update, from April 2014, can be found here: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/astrophysics/astrophysics14_04.html More information about SOFIA is available at: http://www.sofia.usra.edu/ Please feel free to direct questions and comments of a scientific nature regarding SOFIA to the SOFIA Science Center help desk: sofia_help [at] sofia.usra.edu To subscribe to SOFIA electronic news, send an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to: sofia_astronews [at] sofia.usra.edu