Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

The mission was planned to create infrared images of 99% of the sky, with at least eight images made of each position on the sky in order to increase accuracy. The spacecraft was placed in a {{cvt|525|km}}, circular, polar, Sun-synchronous orbit for its ten-month mission, during which it has taken 1.5 million images, one every 11 seconds.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/12/14/wise.spacecraft.launch/index.html|title=NASA launches infrared telescope to scan entire sky|author=Brandon Griggs|publisher=CNN|date=14 December 2009|access-date=15 March 2021}} The satellite orbited above the terminator, its telescope pointing always to the opposite direction to the Earth, except for pointing towards the Moon, which was avoided, and its solar cells towards the Sun. Each image covers a 47 arcminute field of view (FoV), which means a 6 arcsecond resolution. Each area of the sky was scanned at least 10 times at the equator; the poles were scanned at theoretically every revolution due to the overlapping of the images.{{cite web|url=http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mpml/message/22864|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723160805/http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mpml/message/22864|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2012|title=Posting on Minor Planet Mailing List by Amy Mainzer, principal investigator (WISE NEO Section) |website=tech.groups.yahoo.com|access-date=24 August 2013}}{{cite web|last1=Mainzer|first1=Amy|title=Minor Planet Mailing List|url=https://groups.io/g/mpml/message/22630 |website=groups.io|date=2010-01-18}} The produced image library contains data on the local Solar System, the Milky Way, and the more distant Universe. Among the objects WISE studied are asteroids, cool and dim stars such as brown dwarfs, and the most luminous infrared galaxies.

WISE was not able to detect Kuiper belt objects, because their temperatures are too low. Pluto is the only Kuiper belt object that was detected.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEsyU4Q3MjU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/JEsyU4Q3MjU |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Seven Years of WISE - CfA Colloquium|last=Wright|first=Ned|date=2016-12-08|website=youtube|access-date=2020-03-22|quote=(41:22) So you can see a little shade moving back and forth. So Pluto is definitively there.}}{{cbignore}} It was able to detect any objects warmer than 70–100 K. A Neptune-sized object would be detectable out to 700 Astronomical unit (AU), a Jupiter mass object out to 1 light year (63,000 AU), where it would still be within the Sun's zone of gravitational control. A larger object of 2–3 Jupiter masses would be visible at a distance of up to 7–10 light years.{{cite web|first=Emily|last=Lakdawalla|title=The Planetary Society Blog: "WISE Guys" |url=http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002070/|publisher=The Planetary Society|date=27 August 2009|access-date=26 December 2009|archive-date=17 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617054321/http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002070/|url-status=dead}}

At the time of planning, it was estimated that WISE would detect about 300,000 main-belt asteroids, of which approximately 100,000 will be new, and some 700 Near-Earth objects (NEO) including about 300 undiscovered. That translates to about 1000 new main-belt asteroids per day, and 1–3 NEOs per day. The peak of magnitude distribution for NEOs will be about 21–22 V. WISE would detect each typical Solar System object 10–12 times over about 36 hours in intervals of 3 hours.{{update inline|date=August 2023}}

Star formation, a process where visible light is normally obscured by interstellar dust, is detectable in infrared, since at this wavelength electromagnetic radiation can penetrate the dust. Infrared measurements from the WISE astronomical survey have been particularly effective at unveiling previously undiscovered star clusters.{{cite journal |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013Ap%26SS.344..175M/abstract|title=Discovering protostars and their host clusters via WISE|journal=Astrophysics and Space Science|first=Daniel J.|last=Majaess |s2cid=118455708|volume=344|issue=1|pages=175–186|date=March 2013|doi=10.1007/s10509-012-1308-y|arxiv=1211.4032|bibcode=2013Ap&SS.344..175M|access-date=15 March 2021}} Examples of such embedded star clusters are Camargo 18, Camargo 440, Majaess 101, and Majaess 116.{{cite journal|title=New Galactic embedded clusters and candidates from a WISE Survey|journal=New Astronomy|first1=Denilso|last1=Camargo|first2=Eduardo|last2=Bica|first3=Charles|last3=Bonatto|s2cid=119002533|volume=34|pages=84–97|date=January 2015 |doi=10.1016/j.newast.2014.05.007|arxiv=1406.3099|bibcode=2015NewA...34...84C}}{{cite journal|title=Towards a census of the Galactic anticentre star clusters - III Tracing the spiral structure in the outer disc|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|first1=Denilso|last1=Camargo|first2=Eduardo|last2=Bica|first3=Charles|last3=Bonatto|s2cid=119197294|volume=432|issue=4|pages=3349–3360|date=July 2013 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stt703|doi-access=free |bibcode=2013MNRAS.432.3349C|arxiv=1505.01829}} In addition, galaxies of the young Universe and interacting galaxies, where star formation is intensive, are bright in infrared. At infrared wavelengths, interstellar gas clouds are also detectable, as well as proto-planetary discs. The WISE satellite was expected to find at least 1,000 proto-planetary discs.

The WISE satellite bus was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, Colorado. The spacecraft was derived from the Ball Aerospace & Technologies RS-300 spacecraft architecture, particularly the NEXTSat spacecraft built for the successful Orbital Express mission launched on 9 March 2007. The flight system had an estimated mass of {{cvt|560|kg}}. The spacecraft was three-axis stabilized, with body-fixed solar arrays. It used a high-gain antenna in the Ku-band to transmit to the ground through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) geostationary system. Ball also performed the testing and flight system integration.{{fact|date=August 2024}}

File:WISE 1.png|WISE spacecraft

File:Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Instruments.jpg|Scheme of the spacecraft

File:Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Optics.jpg|Scheme of the telescope

File:Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Scheme.jpg|Scheme of the instruments

{{Multiple image

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Construction of the WISE telescope was divided between Ball Aerospace & Technologies (spacecraft, operations support), SSG Precision Optronics, Inc. (telescope, optics, scan mirror), DRS Technologies and Rockwell International (focal planes), Lockheed Martin (cryostat, cooling for the telescope), and Space Dynamics Laboratory (instruments, electronics, and testing). The program was managed through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The WISE instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah.

File:Comet Siding Spring.jpg

File:Freezing WISE's Hydrogen.jpg

WISE surveyed the sky in four wavelengths of the infrared band, at a very high sensitivity. Its design specified as goals that the full sky atlas of stacked images it produced have 5-sigma sensitivity limits of 120, 160, 650, and 2600 microjanskies (μJy) at 3.3, 4.7, 12, and 23 μm (aka microns).{{cite journal|last1=Mainzer|first1=Amanda K.|last2=Eisenhardt|first2=Peter |last3=Wright|first3=Edward L.|last4=Liu|first4=Feng-Chuan|last5=Irace|first5=William|last6=Heinrichsen|first6=Ingolf|last7=Cutri|first7=Roc|last8=Duval|first8=Valerie|s2cid=118977552|title=Preliminary design of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)|journal=Uv/Optical/Ir Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts II|editor-last=MacEwen|editor-first=Howard A.|date=10 August 2005 |series=Proceedings of the SPIE – UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts II|volume=5899|pages=262–273|url=http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/documents/WISESPIE_SanDiego05.pdf|access-date=5 March 2010|bibcode=2005SPIE.5899..262M|arxiv=astro-ph/0508246|doi=10.1117/12.611774|citeseerx=10.1.1.127.8454}} WISE achieved at least 68, 98, 860, and 5400 μJy; 5 sigma sensitivity at 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 μm for the WISE All-Sky data release.{{cite web|author=Roc Cutri|url=http://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/release/allsky/expsup/sec1_1.html#wise|title=Explanatory Supplement to the WISE All-Sky Data Release Products|publisher=Caltech Infrared Processing and Analysis Center|date=14 March 2012|access-date=17 November 2014}} This is a factor of 1,000 times better sensitivity than the survey completed in 1983 by the IRAS satellite in the 12 and 23 μm bands, and a factor of 500,000 times better than the 1990s survey by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite at 3.3 and 4.7 μm. On the other hand, IRAS could also observe 60 and 100 μm wavelengths.{{cite book|last=Schmadel|first=Lutz D.|page=315|title=Dictionary of minor planet names|publisher=Springer |date=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA315|isbn=978-3-540-29925-7}}

• Band 1 – 3.4 μm (micrometre) – broad-band sensitivity to stars and galaxies
• Band 2 – 4.6 μm – detect thermal radiation from the internal heat sources of sub-stellar objects like brown dwarfs
• Band 3 – 12 μm – detect thermal radiation from asteroids
• Band 4 – 22 μm – sensitivity to dust in star-forming regions (material with temperatures of 70–100 kelvins)

The primary mission lasted 10 months: one month for checkout, six months for a full-sky survey, then an additional three months of survey until the cryogenic coolant (which kept the instruments at 17 K) ran out. The partial second survey pass facilitated the study of changes (e.g. orbital movement) in observed objects.{{cite web|author=Rebecca Whatmore|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/overview.cfm|title=NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|publisher=NASA (JPL)|date=10 December 2009|access-date=26 December 2009|archive-date=30 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230150809/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/overview.cfm|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}

On 8 November 2007, the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to examine the status of NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) survey program. The prospect of using WISE was proposed by NASA officials.{{cite news|author=United States House Committee on Science and Technology|title=Hearing Charter: Near-Earth Objects - Status of the Survey Program and Review of NASA's 2007 Report to Congress|url=https://spaceref.com/status-report/hearing-charter-near-earth-objects-status-of-the-survey-program-and-review-of-nasas-2007-report-to-congress/|publisher=SpaceRef|date=7 November 2007|access-date=25 December 2009}}

NASA officials told Committee staff that NASA planned to use WISE to detect near-Earth objects in addition to performing its science goals. It was projected that WISE could detect 400 NEOs (or roughly 2% of the estimated NEO population of interest) within its one-year mission.

By October 2010, over 33,500 new asteroids and comets were discovered, and nearly 154,000 Solar System objects had been observed by WISE.

Discovery of an ultra-cool brown dwarf, WISEPC J045853.90+643451.9, about 10~30 light years away from Earth, was announced in late 2010 based on early data.{{cite news|first=Nicole|last=Gugliucci |date=18 November 2010|title=Infrared telescopes find ultra-cool brown dwarf|url=http://news.discovery.com/space/infrared-telescopes-find-ultra-cool-brown-dwarf.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711144346/http://news.discovery.com/space/infrared-telescopes-find-ultra-cool-brown-dwarf.html|archive-date=11 July 2012|url-status=dead}} In July 2011, it was announced that WISE had discovered the first Earth trojan asteroid, {{mpl|2010 TK|7}}.{{cite news|first=Charles Q.|last=Choi|date=27 July 2011|title=First asteroid companion of Earth discovered at last|website=space.com|url=http://www.space.com/12443-earth-asteroid-companion-discovered-2010-tk7.html|access-date=24 August 2013}} Also, the third-closest star system, Luhman 16.

As of May 2018, WISE / NEOWISE had also discovered 290 near-Earth objects and comets (see section below).

The WISE mission is led by Edward L. Wright of the University of California, Los Angeles. The mission has a long history under Wright's efforts and was first funded by NASA in 1999 as a candidate for a NASA Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) mission under the name Next Generation Sky Survey (NGSS). The history of the program from 1999 to date is briefly summarized as follows:{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

• January 1999 — NGSS is one of five missions selected for a Phase A study, with an expected selection in late 1999 of two of these five missions for construction and launch, one in 2003 and another in 2004. Mission cost is estimated at US$139 million at this time.
• March 1999 — WIRE infrared telescope spacecraft fails within hours of reaching orbit.
• October 1999 — Winners of MIDEX study are awarded, and NGSS is not selected.
• October 2001 — NGSS proposal is re-submitted to NASA as a MIDEX mission.
• April 2002 — NGSS proposal is accepted by the NASA Explorer office to proceed as one of four MIDEX programs for a Pre-Phase A study.
• December 2002 — NGSS changes its name to Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).
• March 2003 — NASA releases a press release announcing WISE has been selected for an Extended Phase-A study, leading to a decision in 2004 on whether to proceed with the development of the mission.
• April 2003 — Ball Aerospace & Technologies is selected as the spacecraft provider for the WISE mission.
• April 2004 — WISE is selected as NASA's next MIDEX mission. WISE's cost is estimated at US$208 million at this time.
• November 2004 — NASA selects the Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University to build the telescope for WISE.
• October 2006 — WISE is confirmed for development by NASA and authorized to proceed with development. Mission cost at this time is estimated to be US$300 million.

File:WISE before mating to its payload adapter.jpg|WISE being connected to its adapter for launch

File:Installation of the Payload fairing around WISE.jpg|WISE during the payload fairing installation

File:Delta II rocket launches with WISE.jpg|Delta II launch vehicle with WISE aboard

File:WISE IR launch crop.jpg|Infrared image of WISE's launch from Vandenberg AFB

• 14 December 2009 — WISE successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
• 29 December 2009 — WISE successfully jettisoned instrument cover.
• 6 January 2010 — WISE first light image released.
• 14 January 2010 — WISE begins its regular four wavelength survey scheduled for nine months duration. It is expected to cover 99% of the sky with overlapping images in the first 6 months and continuing with a second pass until the hydrogen coolant is exhausted about three months later.
• 25 January 2010 — WISE detects a never-before-seen near Earth asteroid, designated 2010 AB78.{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Cooney|date=26 January 2010|title=NASA space telescope spots asteroid |publisher=techworld.com|url=http://news.techworld.com/sme/3211166/nasa-space-telescope-spots-asteroid/|access-date=21 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221072446/http://news.techworld.com/sme/3211166/nasa-space-telescope-spots-asteroid|archive-date=21 February 2010}}
• 11 February 2010 — WISE detects a previously unknown comet, designated P/2010 B2 (WISE).{{cite press release|title=WISE spies a comet with its powerful infrared eye|publisher=NASA|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20100211.html|access-date=11 February 2010|archive-date=15 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215035301/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20100211.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}
• 25 February 2010 — WISE website reports it has surveyed over 25% of the sky to a depth of 7 overlapping image frames.
• 10 April 2010 — WISE website reports it has surveyed over 50% of the sky to a depth of 7 overlapping image frames.
• 26 May 2010 — WISE website reports it has surveyed over 75% of the sky to a depth of 7 overlapping image frames.
• 16 July 2010 — Press release announces that 100% sky coverage will be completed on 17 July 2010.{{cite press release|title=NASA's WISE Mission to Complete Extensive Sky Survey|website=jpl.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-238|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-date=5 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605142931/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-238|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} About half of the sky will be mapped again before the instrument's block of solid hydrogen coolant sublimes and is exhausted.
• October 2010 — WISE hydrogen coolant runs out. Start of NASA Planetary Division funded NEOWISE mission.
• January 2011 — Entire sky surveyed to an image density of at least 16+ frames (i.e. second scan of sky completed).

Hibernation

• 17 February 2011 — WISE Spacecraft transmitter turned off at 20:00 UTC by principal investigator Ned Wright. The spacecraft will remain in hibernation without ground contacts awaiting possible future use.{{cite press release|title=The WISE Spacecraft transmitter was turned off for the final time|date=17 February 2011|website=WISE / University of California, Berkeley |url=http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/news.html|access-date=19 February 2011}}

File:PIA18593-Mars-CometSidingSpring-NEOWISE-20140728.jpg multiple exposure – four separate images superimposed against the same background stars (NEOWISE; 28 July 2014). (The four reddish smudges, center; the blue/white ovals top left are galaxies.)]]

• 14 April 2011 — Preliminary release of data covering 57% of the sky as seen by WISE.{{cite web|title=Mapping the Infrared Universe: Part 1|date=14 April 2011 |url=http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/gallery_allsky.html|access-date=6 July 2011}}
• 27 July 2011 — First Earth trojan asteroid discovered from WISE data.
• 23 August 2011 — WISE confirms the existence of a new class of brown dwarf, the Y dwarf. Some of these stars appear to have temperatures less than 300 K, close to room temperature at about 25 °C. Y dwarfs show ammonia absorption, in addition to methane and water absorption bands displayed by T dwarfs.
• 14 March 2012 — Release of the WISE All-Sky data to the scientific community.{{cite press release|title=NASA releases new WISE Mission catalog of entire infrared sky|date=14 March 2012|publisher=NASA (JPL)|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-072|access-date=15 March 2012|archive-date=4 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604151306/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-072|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}
• 29 August 2012 — WISE reveals millions of black-holes.{{cite press release|title=NASA's WISE survey uncovers millions of black holes|website=NASA|date=29 August 2012 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20120829.html|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222140753/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20120829.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}
• 20 September 2012 — WISE was successfully contacted to check its status.
• 21 August 2013 — NASA announced it would recommission WISE with a new mission to search for asteroids.

Reactivation

• 19 December 2013 — NASA releases a new image taken by the reactivated WISE telescope, following an extended cooling down phase. The revived NeoWise mission is underway and collecting data.
• 7 March 2014 — NASA reports that WISE, after an exhaustive survey, has not been able to uncover any evidence of "planet X", a hypothesized planet within the Solar System.{{cite press release|last1=Clavin|first1=Whitney|last2=Harrington|first2=J. D.|title=NASA's WISE survey finds thousands of new stars, but no "planet X" |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-075|date=7 March 2014|publisher=NASA (JPL)|access-date=7 March 2014}} {{PD-notice}}
• 26 April 2014 — The Penn State Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds reports that WISE has found the coldest known brown dwarf, between −48 °C and −13 °C, 7.2 light years away from the Sun.{{cite news|last=Nayan|first=Kamal|date=26 April 2014|title=Research discover[s] a cold, close neighbor of the Sun|website=counselheal.com |url=http://www.counselheal.com/articles/9514/20140426/researchers-discover-cold-close-neighbor-sun.htm|access-date=26 April 2014}}
• 21 May 2015 — NASA reports the discovery of WISE J224607.57-052635.0, the most luminous known galaxy in the Universe.{{cite news|title=WISE spacecraft discovers most luminous galaxy in universe|date=21 May 2015|publisher=Phys Org|url=http://phys.org/news/2015-05-wise-spacecraft-luminous-galaxy-universe.html|access-date=22 May 2015}}{{cite web |title=PIA19339: Dusty 'sunrise' at core of Galaxy (artist's concept)|date=21 May 2015|publisher=NASA (JPL)|url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19339|access-date=21 May 2015}} {{PD-notice}}

File:Animation of WISE orbit around Earth.gif

File:Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer first-light image.jpg.]]

The launch of the Delta II launch vehicle carrying the WISE spacecraft was originally scheduled for 11 December 2009. This attempt was scrubbed to correct a problem with a booster rocket steering engine. The launch was then rescheduled for 14 December 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20091210b.html|title=Mission News: WISE Launch Rescheduled for December 14|author=Whitney Clavin|publisher=NASA|date=10 December 2009|access-date=23 December 2009|archive-date=14 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214214303/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20091210b.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} The second attempt launched on time at 14:09:33 UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch vehicle successfully placed the WISE spacecraft into the planned polar orbit at an altitude of {{cvt|525|km}} above the Earth.

WISE avoided the problem that affected Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), which failed within hours of reaching orbit in March 1999.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/12/live-ula-delta-ii-launch-with-wise/|title=ULA Delta II successfully launches with WISE|publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|author=William Graham|date=14 December 2009|access-date=26 December 2009}} In addition, WISE was 1,000 times more sensitive than prior surveys such as IRAS, AKARI, and COBE's DIRBE.

A month-long checkout after launch found all spacecraft systems functioning normally and both the low- and high-rate data links to the operations center working properly. The instrument cover was successfully jettisoned on 29 December 2009.{{cite web|author=Whitney Clavin|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-206&cid=release_2009-206&msource=2009206&tr=y&auid=5763743|title=NASA's WISE Space Telescope Jettisons Its Cover|date=29 December 2009|publisher=NASA|access-date=29 December 2009|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605042414/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-206&cid=release_2009-206&msource=2009206&tr=y&auid=5763743|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} A first light image was released on 6 January 2010: an eight-second exposure in the Carina constellation showing infrared light in false color from three of WISE's four wavelength bands: Blue, green and red corresponding to 3.4, 4.6, and 12 μm, respectively.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/multimedia/wise20100106.html|title=WISE 'First-Light' Image|date=6 January 2010|publisher=NASA|access-date=6 January 2010|archive-date=12 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112002753/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/multimedia/wise20100106.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} On 14 January 2010, the WISE mission started its official sky survey.{{cite web|url=http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/news.html|title=WISE – News & Events|date=11 February 2010|publisher=NASA |access-date=21 February 2010}} {{PD-notice}}

The WISE group's bid for continued funding for an extended "warm mission" scored low by a NASA review board, in part because of a lack of outside groups publishing on WISE data. Such a mission would have allowed use of the 3.4 and 4.6 μm detectors after the last of cryo-coolant had been exhausted, with the goal of completing a second sky survey to detect additional objects and obtain parallax data on putative brown dwarf stars. NASA extended the mission in October 2010 to search for near-Earth objects (NEO).

By October 2010, over 33,500 new asteroids and comets were discovered, and over 154,000 Solar System objects were observed by WISE.{{cite news|author=Lisa Grossman|title=Top 10 Deep-space photos from infrared telescope's final days|url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/wise-gallery/?pid=319|publisher=Wired|date=5 October 2010|access-date=29 October 2010}} While active it found dozens of previously unknown asteroids every day.{{cite web|url=https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/26mar_darkasteroids.htm?list994055|title=An Avalanche of Dark Asteroids|publisher=NASA|series=Science@NASA |first=Dauna|last=Coulter|date=26 March 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714172304/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/26mar_darkasteroids/|archive-date=14 July 2012|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} In total, it captured more than 2.7 million images during its primary mission.

{{redirect|NEOWISE|the comet|Comet NEOWISE}}

File:Comets WISE.jpg

[[File:NEA by survey.png|thumb|Number of near-Earth objects detected by various projects:

]]

In October 2010, NASA extended the mission by one month with a program called Near-Earth Object WISE (NEOWISE).{{cite news|author=Debra Werner|title=Last-minute Reprieve Extends WISE Mission|url=http://spacenews.com/last-minute-reprieve-extends-wise-mission/|publisher=SpaceNews|date=5 October 2010|access-date=29 October 2010}} Due to its success, the program was extended a further three months. The focus was to look for asteroids and comets close to Earth orbit, using the remaining post-cryogenic detection capability (two of four detectors on WISE work without cryogenic). In February 2011, NASA announced that NEOWISE had discovered many new objects in the Solar System, including twenty comets.{{cite news|title=NASA's NEOWISE Completes Scan for Asteroids and Comets|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110201.html|publisher=NASA|date=1 February 2011|access-date=3 February 2011|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203013541/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110201.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} During its primary and extended missions, the spacecraft delivered characterizations of 158,000 minor planets, including more than 35,000 newly discovered objects.{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/nasa-neowise-spacecraft-discovers-new-comet-c2014-c3-spotted-143-million-miles-earth-1559027|title=NASA NEOWISE spacecraft discovers a new comet, {{mp|C/2014 C|3}} spotted 143 million miles from Earth|work=International Business Times|first=Charles|last=Poladian|date=3 March 2014|access-date=30 April 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/secondhand-spacecraft-has-firsthand-asteroid-experience|title=Secondhand Spacecraft Has Firsthand Asteroid Experience|publisher=NASA|first=D. C.|last=Agle|date=11 November 2015|access-date=12 November 2015|archive-date=12 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112171837/http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/secondhand-spacecraft-has-firsthand-asteroid-experience|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}

After completing a full scan of the asteroid belt for the NEOWISE mission, the spacecraft was put into hibernation on 1 February 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2011-031|title=NASA's NEOWISE Completes Scan for Asteroids and Comets|publisher=NASA (JPL)|first1=Whitney|last1=Clavin|first2=Trent J.|last2=Perrotto |date=1 February 2011|access-date=12 November 2016}} {{PD-notice}} The spacecraft was briefly contacted to check its status on 20 September 2012.

On 21 August 2013, NASA announced it would recommission NEOWISE to continue its search for near-Earth objects (NEO) and potentially dangerous asteroids. It would additionally search for asteroids that a robotic spacecraft could intercept and redirect to orbit the Moon. The extended mission would be for three years at a cost of US$5 million per year, and was brought about in part due to calls for NASA to step up asteroid detection after the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded over Russia in February 2013.

NEOWISE was successfully taken out of hibernation in September 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.space.com/24032-nasa-neowise-spacecraft-asteroid-photos.html|title=Reactivated NASA asteroid-hunting probe takes first photos in 2.5 years|publisher=Space.com|first=Mike|last=Wall|date=19 December 2013|access-date=12 November 2016}} With its coolant depleted, the spacecraft's temperature was reduced from {{cvt|200|K|C F}} — a relatively high temperature resulting from its hibernation — to an operating temperature of {{cvt|75|K|C F}} by having the telescope stare into deep space.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-wise-asteroid-20130822,0,5195850.story|title=Going asteroid hunting: NASA wakes telescope from 2 ½ year nap|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|first=Deborah|last=Netburn|date=22 August 2013|access-date=23 August 2013}} Its instruments were then re-calibrated, and the first post-hibernation photograph was taken on 19 December 2013.

File:PIA21259 - Celestial Object 2016 WF9, a NEOWISE Discovery (Artist Concept).jpg

File:PIA22419-Neowise-1stFourYearsDataFromDec2013-20180420.gif and Jupiter. Yellow squares represent comets. White dots are asteroids in view of NEOWISE.}}]]

The post-hibernation NEOWISE mission was anticipated to discover 150 previously unknown near-Earth objects and to learn more about the characteristics of 2,000 known asteroids.{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/newsfeatures.cfm?release=2013-257|title=NASA spacecraft reactivated to hunt for asteroids|publisher=NASA (JPL)|first1=D. C.|last1=Agle|first2=Dwayne|last2=Brown|date=21 August 2013|access-date=12 November 2016|archive-date=30 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830000959/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/newsfeatures.cfm?release=2013-257|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}} Few objects smaller than {{cvt|100|m}} in diameter were detected by NEOWISE's automated detection software, known as the WISE Moving Object Processing Software (WMOPS), because it requires five or more detections to be reported. The average albedo of asteroids larger than {{cvt|100|m}} discovered by NEOWISE is 0.14.

The telescope was turned on again in 2013, and by December 2013 the telescope had cooled down sufficiently to be able to resume observations.{{cite web |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/jun2017/presentations/Bauer.pdf|title=NEOWISE reactivation mission status}} Between then and May 2017, the telescope made almost 640,000 detections of over 26,000 previously known objects including asteroids and comets. In addition, it discovered 416 new objects and about a quarter of those were near-Earth objects classification.

As of July 2024, WISE / NEOWISE statistics lists a total of 399 near-Earth objects (NEOs), including {{mpl|2016 WF|9}} and {{mpl|C/2016 U|1}}, discovered by the spacecraft:{{cite web |url=https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/stats/wise.html|title=WISE NEA / Comet discovery statistics|publisher=NASA / JPL|access-date=6 August 2024}} {{PD-notice}}

• {{0|}}365 NEAs (subset of NEOs)
• {{0|0}}66 PHAs (subset of NEAs)
• {{0|0}}34 comets

Of the 365 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), 66 of them are considered potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), a subset of the much larger family of NEOs, but particularly more likely to hit Earth and cause significant destruction. NEOs can be divided into NECs (comets only) and NEAs (asteroids only), and further into subcategories such as Atira asteroids, Aten asteroids, Apollo asteroids, Amor asteroids and the potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs).{{cite web|url=http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/groups.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020202160655/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/groups.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2002|title=WISE NEA / NEO groups|publisher=NASA (JPL)|access-date=1 August 2015}} {{PD-notice}}

NEOWISE has provided an estimate of the size of over 1,850 near-Earth objects. NEOWISE mission was extended for two more years (1 July 2021 – 30 June 2023).{{cite web|url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/asteroid-hunting-space-telescope-gets-two-year-mission-extension|title=Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope Gets Two-Year Mission Extension|publisher=NASA / JPL|date=30 June 2021|access-date=2 July 2021}} {{PD-notice}}

{{As of|June 2021}} NEOWISE's replacement, the next-generation NEO Surveyor, is scheduled to launch in 2028, and will greatly expand on what humans have learned, and continue to learn, from NEOWISE.

"As of August 2023 NEOWISE is 40% through the 20th coverage of the full sky since the start of the Reactivation mission."[https://neowise.ipac.caltech.edu/ 'THE NEOWISE PROJECT']

On 13 December 2023, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), announced that the satellite would enter a low orbit causing it to be unusable by early 2025. Increased solar activity as the sun approaches solar maximum during Solar cycle 25 was expected to increase atmospheric drag causing orbital decay. The satellite was expected to subsequently reenter the earth's atmosphere. On 8 August 2024, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory updated its estimate of orbital decay to sometime in late 2024 and announced that NEOWISE's science survey had ended on 31 July. NEOWISE entered and burnt up in the Earth's atmosphere at 8:49 p.m. EDT on 1 November 2024.{{cite web |title=WISE/NEOWISE |date=5 December 2017 |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neowise |publisher=NASA |access-date=9 November 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241109091848/https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neowise |archive-date=9 November 2024}}

On 14 April 2011, a preliminary release of WISE data was made public, covering 57% of the sky observed by the spacecraft.{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-117|title=WISE delivers millions of galaxies, stars, asteroids|website=Jet Propulsion Laboratory|date=14 April 2011|access-date=6 July 2011|archive-date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430030724/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-117|url-status=dead}} On 14 March 2012, a new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky as imaged by WISE was released to the astronomic community. On 31 July 2012, NEOWISE Post-Cryo Preliminary Data was released. A release called AllWISE, combining all data, was released on 13 November 2013.{{cite web|url=http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/Missions/wise.html|title=Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and NEOWISE|publisher=NASA / IPAC Infrared Science Archive|date=19 April 2018|access-date=15 May 2018}} {{PD-notice}} NEOWISE data is released annually.

The WISE data include diameter estimates of intermediate precision, better than from an assumed albedo but not nearly as precise as good direct measurements, can be obtained from the combination of reflected light and thermal infrared emission, using a thermal model of the asteroid to estimate both its diameter and its albedo. In May 2016, technologist Nathan Myhrvold questioned the precision of the diameters and claimed systemic errors arising from the spacecraft's design.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=How Big Are Those Killer Asteroids? A Critic Says NASA Doesn't Know. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/science/asteroids-nathan-myhrvold-nasa.html |date=23 May 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=27 January 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828235110/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/science/asteroids-nathan-myhrvold-nasa.html |archive-date=28 August 2017 }}{{cite journal |last=Myhrvold |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Myhrvold |title=Asteroid thermal modeling in the presence of reflected sunlight with an application to WISE/NEOWISE observational data |journal=Icarus |volume=303 |pages=91–113 |date=23 May 2016 |arxiv=1605.06490 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.024 |bibcode=2018Icar..303...91M |s2cid=118511665 }}{{cite news |last=Billings |first=Lee |title=For Asteroid-Hunting Astronomers, Nathan Myhrvold Says the Sky Is Falling |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-asteroid-hunting-astronomers-nathan-myhrvold-says-the-sky-is-falling1/ |date=27 May 2016 |work=Scientific American |access-date=27 January 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829043702/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-asteroid-hunting-astronomers-nathan-myhrvold-says-the-sky-is-falling1/ |archive-date=29 August 2017 }} The original version of his criticism itself faced criticism for its methodology{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/27/nathan_myhrvold_claims_nasa_scientists_asteroid_calculations_are_all_wrong.html |first=Phil |last=Plait |title=A Physics Outsider Says NASA Asteroid Scientists Are All Wrong. Is He Right? (Spoiler: No) |date=27 May 2016 |work=Slate |access-date=27 January 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814110232/http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/27/nathan_myhrvold_claims_nasa_scientists_asteroid_calculations_are_all_wrong.html |archive-date=14 August 2017 }} and did not pass peer review,{{cite news |author=NASA Content Administrator |title=NASA Response to Recent Paper on NEOWISE Asteroid Size Results |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-response-to-recent-paper-on-neowise-asteroid-size-results |date=25 May 2016 |work=News |publisher=NASA/JPL |access-date=10 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714161518/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-response-to-recent-paper-on-neowise-asteroid-size-results |archive-date=14 July 2021 }} but a revised version was subsequently published.{{cite journal |last=Myhrvold |first=Nathan |author-link=Nathan Myhrvold |title=An empirical examination of WISE/NEOWISE asteroid analysis and results |date=22 May 2018 |journal=Icarus |volume=314 |pages=64–97 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2018.05.004 |bibcode=2018Icar..314...64M |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Asteroids and Adversaries: Challenging What NASA Knows About Space Rocks - Two years ago, NASA dismissed and mocked an amateur's criticisms of its asteroids database. Now Nathan Myhrvold is back, and his papers have passed peer review. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/science/asteroids-nasa-nathan-myhrvold.html |date=14 June 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=27 January 2024 }} The same year, an analysis of 100 asteroids by an independent group of astronomers gave results consistent with the original WISE analysis.

File:Allwise unwise compared.png as an example.]]

The Allwise co-added images were intentionally blurred, which is optimal for detecting isolated point sources. This has the disadvantage that many sources are not detected in crowded regions. The unofficial, unblurred coadds of the WISE imaging (unWISE) creates sharp images and masks defects and transients.{{cite journal|last=Lang|first=Dustin|s2cid=119237829|date=2014-04-04|title=unWISE: unblurred co-adds of the WISE imaging|journal=The Astronomical Journal|volume=147|issue=5|page=108|doi=10.1088/0004-6256/147/5/108|issn=0004-6256|bibcode=2014AJ....147..108L|arxiv=1405.0308}} unWISE coadded images can be searched by coordinates on the unWISE website.{{cite web|url=http://unwise.me/|title=unWISE: unblurred coadds from WISE|website=unwise.me|access-date=2020-01-05}} unWISE images are used for the citizen science projects Disk Detective and Backyard Worlds.{{cite journal|last1=Kuchner|first1=Marc J.|last2=Faherty|first2=Jacqueline K.|last3=Schneider|first3=Adam C.|last4=Meisner|first4=Aaron M. |last5=Filippazzo |first5=Joseph C.|last6=Gagné|first6=Jonathan|last7=Trouille|first7=Laura|last8=Silverberg|first8=Steven M.|last9=Castro|first9=Rosa|last10=Fletcher|first10=Bob|last11=Mokaev|first11=Khasan |s2cid=119087928|date=2017-05-24|title=The First Brown Dwarf Discovered by the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=841|issue=2|page=L19|doi=10.3847/2041-8213/aa7200|issn=2041-8213|bibcode=2017ApJ...841L..19K|arxiv=1705.02919 |doi-access=free }}

In 2019, a preliminary catalog was released. The catalog is called CatWISE. This catalog combines the WISE and NEOWISE data and provides photometry at 3.4 and 4.6 μm. It uses the unWISE images and the Allwise pipeline to detect sources. CatWISE includes fainter sources and far more accurate measurement of the motion of objects. The catalog is used to extend the number of discovered brown dwarfs, especially the cold and faint Y dwarfs. CatWISE is led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, with funding from NASA's Astrophysics Data Analysis Program.{{cite journal|last1=Eisenhardt|first1=Peter R. M.|last2=Marocco|first2=Federico|last3=Fowler|first3=John W.|last4=Meisner|first4=Aaron M.|last5=Kirkpatrick|first5=J. Davy|last6=Garcia|first6=Nelson |last7=Jarrett |first7=Thomas H.|last8=Koontz|first8=Renata|last9=Marchese|first9=Elijah J.|last10=Stanford|first10=S. Adam|last11=Caselden|first11=Dan|s2cid=201645245|title=The CatWISE Preliminary Catalog: Motions from WISE and NEOWISE Data|journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series|year=2020|volume=247|issue=2|page=69|doi=10.3847/1538-4365/ab7f2a|arxiv=1908.08902|bibcode=2020ApJS..247...69E |doi-access=free }}{{cite web|url=https://catwise.github.io/|title=CatWISE|website=catwise.github.io|access-date=2020-01-05}} The CatWISE preliminary catalog can be accessed through Infrared Science Archive (IRSA).{{cite web|url=https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/Gator/nph-scan?mission=irsa&submit=Select&projshort=WISE|title=Gator Catalog List|website=irsa.ipac.caltech.edu|access-date=2020-01-05}}

File:WISE 1828+2650 Brown dwarf.jpg

In addition to numerous comets and minor planets, WISE and NEOWISE discovered many brown dwarfs, some just a few light years from the solar system; the first Earth trojan; and the most luminous galaxies in the universe.

Nearby stars discovered using WISE within 30 light years:

The nearest brown dwarfs discovered by WISE within 20 light-years include:

{{Incomplete list|date=February 2020}}

Before the discovery of Luhman 16 in 2013, WISE 1506+7027 at a distance of {{val|11.1|+2.3|-1.3}} light-years was suspected to be closest brown dwarf on the list of nearest stars (also see {{section link||Map with nearby WISE stars}}).{{cite journal|title=Parallaxes and proper motions of ultracool brown dwarfs of spectral types Y and late T|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|first1=Kenneth A.|last1=Marsh|first2=Edward L.|last2=Wright|first3=J. Davy|last3=Kirkpatrick|first4=Christopher R.|last4=Gelino|first5=Michael C.|last5=Cushing|first6=Roger L.|last6=Griffith |first7=Michael F.|last7=Skrutskie|first8=Peter R.|last8=Eisenhardt|s2cid=42923100|display-authors=1|volume=762|issue=2|page=119|date=2013|arxiv=1211.6977|bibcode=2013ApJ...762..119M|doi=10.1088/0004-637X/762/2/119}}

Directly imaged exoplanets first detected with WISE. See Definition of exoplanets: IAU working definition as of 2018 requires M_planet ≤ 13 {{Jupiter mass|link=true}} and M_planet/M_central < 0.04006. M_min and M_max are the lower and upper mass limit of the planet in Jupiter masses.

The sensitivity of WISE in the infrared enabled the discovery of disk around young stars and old white dwarf systems. These discoveries usually require a combination of optical, near infrared and WISE or Spitzer mid-infrared observations. Examples are the red dwarf WISE J080822.18-644357.3, the brown dwarf WISEA J120037.79-784508.3 and the white dwarf LSPM J0207+3331. The NASA citizen science project Disk Detective is using WISE data. Additionally researchers used NEOWISE to discover erupting young stellar objects.{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Tinggui |last2=Li |first2=Jiaxun |last3=N. Mace |first3=Gregory |last4=Ji |first4=Tuo |last5=Jiang |first5=Ning |last6=Zhu |first6=Qingfeng |last7=Fang |first7=Min |date=2023-11-01 |title=A Gigantic Mid-infrared Outburst in an Embedded Class I Young Stellar Object J064722.95+031644.6 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=957 |issue=1 |pages=8 |arxiv=2309.11016 |bibcode=2023ApJ...957....8W |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/acf92e |doi-access=free |issn=0004-637X}}

Researchers discovered a few nebulae using WISE. Such as the type Iax remnant Pa 30. Nebulae around the massive B-type stars BD+60° 2668 and ALS 19653,{{Cite journal |last1=Gvaramadze |first1=Vasilii V. |last2=Kniazev |first2=Alexei Yu. |last3=Castro |first3=Norberto |last4=Grebel |first4=Eva K. |date=2019-02-01 |title=Two Circumstellar Nebulae Discovered with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explore and Their Massive Central Stars |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=157 |issue=2 |pages=53 |arxiv=1812.00007 |bibcode=2019AJ....157...53G |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/aaf56c |doi-access=free |issn=0004-6256}} an obscured shell around the Wolf-Rayet star WR 35{{Cite journal |last1=Toalá |first1=J. A. |last2=Guerrero |first2=M. A. |last3=Ramos-Larios |first3=G. |last4=Guzmán |first4=V. |date=2015-06-01 |title=WISE morphological study of Wolf-Rayet nebulae |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2015/06/aa25706-15/aa25706-15.html |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=578 |pages=A66 |arxiv=1503.06878 |bibcode=2015A&A...578A..66T |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201525706 |issn=0004-6361}} and a halo around the Helix Nebula, a planetary nebula{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yong |last2=Hsia |first2=Chih-Hao |last3=Kwok |first3=Sun |date=2012-08-01 |title=Discovery of a Halo around the Helix Nebula NGC 7293 in the WISE All-sky Survey |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/755/1/53 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=755 |issue=1 |pages=53 |arxiv=1207.4606 |bibcode=2012ApJ...755...53Z |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/755/1/53 |issn=0004-637X}} were also discovered with WISE.

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be identified from their mid-infrared color. One work used for example a combination of Gaia and unWISE data to identify AGNs.{{Cite journal |last1=Shu |first1=Yiping |last2=Koposov |first2=Sergey E. |last3=Evans |first3=N. Wyn |last4=Belokurov |first4=Vasily |last5=McMahon |first5=Richard G. |last6=Auger |first6=Matthew W. |last7=Lemon |first7=Cameron A. |date=2019-11-01 |title=Catalogues of active galactic nuclei from Gaia and unWISE data |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=489 |issue=4 |pages=4741–4759 |arxiv=1909.02010 |bibcode=2019MNRAS.489.4741S |doi=10.1093/mnras/stz2487 |doi-access=free |issn=0035-8711}} Luminous infrared galaxies can be detected in the infrared. One study used SDSS and WISE to identify such galaxies.{{Cite journal |last1=Toba |first1=Y. |last2=Nagao |first2=T. |date=2016-03-01 |title=Search for Hyperluminous Infrared Dust-obscured Galaxies Selected with WISE and SDSS |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=820 |issue=1 |pages=46 |arxiv=1602.07870 |bibcode=2016ApJ...820...46T |doi=10.3847/0004-637X/820/1/46 |doi-access=free |issn=0004-637X}} NEOWISE observed the entire sky for more than 10 years and can be used to find transient events. Some of these discovered transients are Tidal Disruption Events (TDE) in galaxies{{Cite journal |last1=Masterson |first1=Megan |last2=De |first2=Kishalay |last3=Panagiotou |first3=Christos |last4=Kara |first4=Erin |last5=Arcavi |first5=Iair |last6=Eilers |first6=Anna-Christina |last7=Frostig |first7=Danielle |last8=Gezari |first8=Suvi |last9=Grotova |first9=Iuliia |last10=Liu |first10=Zhu |last11=Malyali |first11=Adam |last12=Meisner |first12=Aaron M. |last13=Merloni |first13=Andrea |last14=Newsome |first14=Megan |last15=Rau |first15=Arne |date=2024-02-01 |title=A New Population of Mid-infrared-selected Tidal Disruption Events: Implications for Tidal Disruption Event Rates and Host Galaxy Properties |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=961 |issue=2 |pages=211 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ad18bb |doi-access=free |arxiv=2401.01403 |bibcode=2024ApJ...961..211M |issn=0004-637X}} and infrared detection of supernovae similar to SN 2010jl.

File:PIA23792-1600x1200(1).jpg{{Main list|List of minor planets discovered using the WISE spacecraft}}

WISE is credited with discovering 3,088 numbered minor planets.{{cite web|title=Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)|publisher=Minor Planet Center |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html|date=12 January 2017|access-date=3 February 2017}} Examples of the mission's numbered minor planet discoveries include:

• {{mpl|(310071) 2010 KR|59}}
• {{mpl|(336756) 2010 NV|1}}
• {{mpl|(419624) 2010 SO|16}}

On 27 March 2020, the comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was discovered by the WISE spacecraft. It eventually became a naked-eye comet and was widely photographed by professional and amateur astronomers. It was the brightest comet visible in the northern hemisphere since comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.

File:WISE full sky.jpg|A full-sky view with infrared wavelengths rendered in visible light

File:PIA15812 - Galaxies burn bright like high-wattage light bulbs (crop).jpg|Same full-sky view, highlighting hot, dust-obscured galaxies

File:WISE- Andromeda.jpg|Wide-field infrared view of the Andromeda Galaxy using all four infrared detectors

File:IC 342.jpg|IC 342, a normally obscured galaxy visible through infrared imaging

File:WISE2010-040-rotate180.jpg|The green dot is WISE 0458+6434, which is thought to consist of two T-class brown dwarfs

File:Runaway-star-zeta-ophiuchi-110125.jpg|The runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi and the bow shock formed by this massive star

File:Puppis A - WISE - 609623main pia14884-full full.jpg|Puppis A, which is a supernova remnant

File:Infrared Rho Ophiuchi Complex.jpg|The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex

File:PIA13451.jpg|Lambda Centauri nebula, a star-forming region in the Milky Way

File:Helix Nebula unWISE.jpg|The Helix Nebula, a planetary nebula

File:PIA19341-MilkyWayGalaxy-SpiralArmsData-WISE-20150603.jpg|WISE data used to trace the Milky Way{{'s}} spiral arms

File:Exposing the Milky Way's "X".jpg|X-shape of the Milky Way bulge revealed by WISE

File:PIA18003-NASA-WISE-StarsNearSun-20140425-2 correction.png

{{clear}}

• {{annotated link|Explorer program}}
• Infrared astronomy
• List of largest infrared telescopes
• Nemesis (hypothetical star)
• Tyche (hypothetical planet)
• NEO Surveyor, a successor to NEOWISE

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite journal|first1=Amy|last1=Mainzer|first2=J.|last2=Bauer|first3=T.|last3=Grav|first4=J.|last4=Masiero|year=2014|title=The population of tiny near-Earth objects observed by NEOWISE |journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=784 |issue=2|page=110|doi=10.1088/0004-637X/784/2/110|s2cid=45559179|arxiv=1310.2980|bibcode=2014ApJ...784..110M}}

{{cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Emily C.|last2=Kirkpatrick|first2=J. Davy|last3=Beichman|first3=Charles A.|last4=Smart|first4=Richard L.|last5=Faherty|first5=Jacqueline K. |last6=Gelino|first6=Christopher R.|last7=Cushing|first7=Michael C.|last8=Schneider|first8=Adam C.|last9=Wright|first9=Edward L.|last10=Lowrance|first10=Patrick|last11=Ingalls|first11=James|date=November 2018

|title=Y dwarf trigonometric parallaxes from the Spitzer Space Telescope|journal=Astrophysical Journal|volume=867|issue=2|page=109|doi=10.3847/1538-4357/aae1af|arxiv=1809.06479|bibcode=2018ApJ...867..109M |issn=0004-637X|s2cid=119097554 |doi-access=free }}

}}

{{commons category}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/wise|title=WISE mission|website=nasa.gov|date=5 December 2017 }}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/|title=WISE mission|publisher=NASA / JPL}}
• {{cite web|url=https://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/|title=WISE mission|publisher=UC Berkeley}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/WISE/|title=WISE mission|publisher=UCLA}}
• {{cite web|url=https://neowise.ipac.caltech.edu/|title=NEOWISE mission|publisher=Caltech}}

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