The survey of the comparatively chilly universe will be conducted by NASA’s WISE mission (Wide Infrared Survey Explorer). The mission’s small cryogenic space telescope in a Thermos bottle is scheduled to launch on Dec. 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will complete making an all-sky infrared map by the middle of next year. The catalog is expected to reveal the coolest stars, 100,000 asteroids, and some of the brightest star forming galaxies that are shrouded in dust, among many other targets.

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