Manheim Twp. Grad Probes Origins of Stars, Planets

Astrophysicist David Leisawitz hopes to help NASA unlock some of the secrets of the universe with his proposal for the Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope.

Leisawitz, a 1975 Manheim Township High School graduate, developed the SPIRIT proposal for NASA’s Astronomical Search for Origins Program.

As one of nine proposals selected from 26 proposals submitted by teams across the nation, each hopes to reveal some insight into how stars and planets are formed.

Leisawitz, who works at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., proposes that SPIRIT will be able to produce much sharper images from infrared light sources. It will also be much smaller than a regular telescope, which would have to be the size of 10 football fields.

About half of the light in the universe is infrared, Leisawitz said. Stars and planets are formed by dust clouds which emit infrared light. It is through images made from that light and measurements made from them that scientists hope to make some discoveries.

With each proposal being accepted on a conditional eight-month basis, Leisawitz, said he hopes NASA will continue to support SPIRIT.

“Hope they keep us alive,” he said. “We are doing other related research – we would still be doing related work, so it’s not all in vain if they don’t.”