Caltech IPAC

Today we are simply known as IPAC, with over 150 staff members from researchers to developers to engineers and more, spanning the full spectrum of astronomy and planetary science.

Join us this year as we celebrate our 40th anniversary! #IPAC40 🔭

We began in the 1980's as a small group of scientists called the "Infrared Processing & Analysis Center" supporting the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) mission, but now we have grown beyond our old acronym and have offices in two buildings on the Caltech campus.

#IPAC40 🔭

#OTD 40 years ago, IPACers moved to @caltech.edu campus!

This memo details the move to IPAC (the Morrisroe building) the week of February 3rd, 1986. Before moving, IPACers worked in an office building on Lake Avenue, a few blocks from Caltech.

#IPAC40 🔭

Catch the IPAC Director @tom-greene.bsky.social at Astronomy on Tap Feb. 9, 2026 @ 7:30pm!

The event is free and open to the public 🔭 🧪 ⚛️ #SciComm

This graphic contains two images. On the left is an illustration of the SPHEREx space telescope with an infrared view of space in the background. On the right is an all-sky mosaic image as an elliptical projection based on spectral data collected by the telescope between May and December 2025.

Big applause for the SPHEREx mission team for receiving the Explorers Club's 2026 Sylvia A. Earle Award for Exploration Excellence!👏👏👏

The award recognizes the mission's accomplishment of completing the first infrared map of the sky in 102 colors.
🌈🔭🏆 www.explorers.org/ecad-2026-awardees

ZTF image of M31

The twenty-fourth public data release from the Zwicky Transient Facility contains approximately 69.7 million images, 1043 billion source detections extracted from these images, and 5.32 billion light curves. irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/Missions/ztf...

We are especially excited to welcome you all back this summer for #AAS248 🔭 in our hometown of Pasadena, CA. We will be celebrating IPAC’s 40th anniversary!

Follow us on social media and keep an eye out for special programming we're hosting during the meeting! See you all soon ☀️

Another #AAS247 🔭 in the books = another wonderful, whirlwind of exciting astronomy happening and coming soon! 💨

From topics like Roman, Euclid, and SPHEREx, to NExScI, NED, IRSA, NITARP, Firefly, PRIMA, and SHERA — there was something for everyone. Thank you to all!

🔭 ⚛️ 🧪 👩‍🔬

🔭 ⚛️ 🧪

IPAC scientist Vivian U presented on wobbly black holes at her #AAS247 press conference! This work offers new insights into how galaxies evolve, and it was published in @science.org on Jan. 8, 2026

Read more here:
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/astrono...

Christiansen is the PI of the project, and the data will be archived at IPAC in the NASA Exoplanet Archive!

IPACer @aussiastronomer.bsky.social & team shared the SHERA Mission Concept at #AAS247 🦸‍♀️ 🔭

Searching for Habitable Exoplanets with Relative Astrometry (SHERA) will look for rocky planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars for the 1st time & potentially discover the nearest Earth-like planets!

This is a group photo of the participants of the first Michelson Interferometry Summer School held on the Caltech campus in 1999. The group photo shows ~58 people standing in the shade in front of a campus building, smiling and looking at the camera that is taking the picture. The group is outside and flanked by small trees and other green landscaping. Image credit: Caltech/IPAC-NExScI

We're thrilled to welcome @caltech.edu President-Elect Ray Jayawardhana!

As a grad student, Jayawardhana (a.k.a RayJay) attended the first Michelson Interferometry Summer School in 1999. Today, it lives on as NExScI's Sagan Summer Workshop—and both the workshop and RayJay are still going strong.🔭🚀

Go Pandora! 🛰️ 🔭

Like Jessie said, all of the mission data will be archived at NExScI, the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech IPAC!

At #AAS247, IPAC scientist Andreas Faisst presented at a press conference on Jan. 6. His work shows that early galaxies are maturing faster than researchers previously believed.

"It's like seeing 2-year-old children act like teenagers."

www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/young-g...
@press.aas.org @aas.org

Deadline Reminder: Abstracts are due tomorrow, Jan. 14!

RAPID Response: Hot-wiring the Next Generation of Time-Domain Science is only ~2 months away. We can't wait to discuss and hear about exciting time-domain science with you! conference.ipac.caltech.edu/rapid-hotwiring2026/ 🔭

IPAC at Winter AAS 2026 The 247th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting is being held January 4-8, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. This page contains the schedule and links to activities that feature IPAC staff, scientists...

2 IPAC-related sessions? 2 much fun!

Check out the #AAS247 Roman RAPID session and the Euclid Q1 session, both at 10am MT today! 🔭🔭

📍Roman: 226 C
📍Euclid: 225 B

www.ipac.caltech.edu/page/aas247

@aas.org @press.aas.org

Packed splinter session at #AAS247 for the announcement of The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System—a modular, rapid-response network of four novel observatories designed to democratize access to the cosmos.

Read more about the initiatives here: www.schmidtsciences.org/focus-area-a...

Educators + students present at #AAS247!

NITARP continues its 20-year program of pairing educators with astronomers for year-long, authentic research projects using NASA data. They presented their results to fellow researchers at IPAC's booth.🚀🔭📊
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/teachin...

More Astrophysics for More People ✨

Join us for a virtual #AAS247 session and a first look at The Schmidt Observatory System—a new network of ground and space-based initiatives designed to break the traditional limits of discovery.

📆 Jan 7 | 3-5:30pm MT / 5-7:30pm ET
Register here: buff.ly/kbbNFuB

Meet Roman experts to learn more about the mission, learn about the Cycle 1 Call for Proposals (due March 17), and get some stickers! 👾

Come visit the NASA, STScI, and IPAC booths in Phoenix Convention Exhibit Hall throughout the week.

#AAS247 #ExpandOurView #NASARoman

Are you at #AAS247 & interested in submitting a Roman proposal? 🔭

Come to the "Roman Space Telescope Proposal and Science Planning" splinter session Tuesday Jan. 6 at 10:0am - 12:00pm MT.

Find the call for proposals here: roman-docs.ipac.caltech.edu/roman-propos...
@nancyromansci.bsky.social

IPAC has landed in the desert 🏜️

Come say hello to your favorite science and data center in the expo hall at #AAS247 in Phoenix, AZ!

@aas.org @press.aas.org 🔭

⭐️ ⛄️ Happy Holidays from IPAC! ❄️ 🪐

While we get excited to celebrate 40 years of IPAC at Caltech in 2026, we're looking back at some of the highlights of 2025.

Check them out here: www.ipac.caltech.edu/holiday-card 🔭

Read more about the all-sky image & the SPHEREx mission here: spherex.caltech.edu/news/nasa-s-...

The SPHEREx Science Data Center is based at IPAC and reduces the data for scientists with @irsaipac.bsky.social

IRSA will release many science products, including:
- All-sky galaxy redshift catalog
- Broad-band mosaic maps of deep fields
- Catalog of interstellar ices absorption features
🧪 ⚛️ 🔭

This all-sky mosaic image is built from a selection of the 102 infrared colors. The Milky Way runs through the middle of the image. Most of the points of light above & below it are other galaxies.

Color map:
blue, green, & white = stars
blue = hot hydrogen gas
red = cosmic dust

NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has completed its first infrared map of the entire sky!
This is the most comprehensive spectral view of the infrared sky, with 102 colors (or wavelengths) of infrared light from observations made between May and December 2025.
🧪 ⚛️ 🔭

🚀The Roman Cycle 1 Call for Proposals is OPEN!

Unlock new discoveries with the Wide Field Instrument—your science starts here! Apply for funding to analyze Roman data, perform theory/lab research, and propose new observations. 🔭☄️

📅 Deadline: Mar 17, 2026 (5 PM PDT)
📝 bit.ly/4q3jbbL