Glossary term: Infrared (IR)
Description: Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than those of visible light but shorter than microwave and radio waves. Infrared light has wavelengths in the range of 700 nanometers to one millimeter while visible light has wavelengths from around 400–700 nanometers. Infrared light is therefore invisible to the human eye and can only be seen with special cameras. Thermal bodies with temperatures of tens to a few thousand kelvins, such as molecular clouds in space, the human body, or brown dwarfs, have their peak electromagnetic emission in infrared light.
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Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
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In Other Languages
- Arabic: الأشعة تحت الحمراء
- German: Infrarot (IR)
- French: Infrarouge (IR)
- Italian: Infrarossi (IR)
- Japanese: 赤外線 (external link)
- Korean: 적외선(IR)
- Simplified Chinese: 红外线（IR）
- Traditional Chinese: 紅外線（IR）
Related Media
Infrared Reentry Analysis: Shuttle Orbiter Columbia
Caption: A composite image of the Space Shuttle Columbia's reentry, captured by NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The right hand side of the image was taken in infrared light with the left hand side taken in visible light. The image reveals the intense heating patterns encountered during descent. The temperature scale for the infrared image goes from violet at the coolest end to red at the hottest. We can see here that the wing and tail of the space shuttle are glowing the brightest, indicating that they are the hottest.
Credit: NASA with minor adjustments by wikicommons user Ke4roh
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License: PD Public Domain icons
