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| Nasa sky survey probe blasts off | Nasa sky survey probe blasts off |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Nasa satellite designed to uncover hidden cosmic objects has blasted off from California. | A Nasa satellite designed to uncover hidden cosmic objects has blasted off from California. |
| The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise) blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Delta II rocket just after 1409 GMT. | |
| It will pick up the glow of hundreds of millions of astronomical bodies. | It will pick up the glow of hundreds of millions of astronomical bodies. |
| The probe is expected to uncover objects that have never seen before, including some of the coolest stars and the most luminous galaxies. | The probe is expected to uncover objects that have never seen before, including some of the coolest stars and the most luminous galaxies. |
| It will do this by scanning the entire sky in infrared light with a sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before. | It will do this by scanning the entire sky in infrared light with a sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before. |
| Viewing the sky with "infrared glasses" can lift a veil on many objects that are not visible to the naked eye. | Viewing the sky with "infrared glasses" can lift a veil on many objects that are not visible to the naked eye. |
| The satellite will also have a role in planetary protection: Wise will be able to detect some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets. | The satellite will also have a role in planetary protection: Wise will be able to detect some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets. |
| Wise will cast a wide net for astronomical objects of interest | Wise will cast a wide net for astronomical objects of interest |
| This would help efforts to determine whether any of these objects could strike Earth in the near future. | This would help efforts to determine whether any of these objects could strike Earth in the near future. |
| Wise joins two other infrared missions in space: Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory. | Wise joins two other infrared missions in space: Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory. |
| This mission is different from those others in that it will survey the entire sky. | This mission is different from those others in that it will survey the entire sky. |
| It is designed to cast a wide net to catch a variety of objects of interest, including rare oddities. | It is designed to cast a wide net to catch a variety of objects of interest, including rare oddities. |