![The Optical Depth of [CII]: the Implications for Galaxies both Near and Far](https://www.sofia.usra.edu/sites/default/files/banner/guevara.png "The Optical Depth of [CII]: the Implications for Galaxies both Near and Far")
SOFIA Science Center
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR, consisting of an extensively modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a 2.7-meter (106 inch) reflecting telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches). DLR provides the telescope, scheduled aircraft maintenance, and other support for the mission. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science, and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association, headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute at the University of Stuttgart. The aircraft is maintained and operated by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703, in Palmdale, California.
