NASA's NEOWISE telescope concluded its mission on November 1, 2024, after providing a wealth of astronomical data, culminating in a final data release on November 14 that featured over 26 million images and nearly 200 billion detected sources.

Originally launched as WISE in 2009, NEOWISE was reactivated in 2013 to focus on asteroid detection, successfully conducting 21 complete sky surveys over its 15 years of operation.

Throughout its mission, NEOWISE characterized over 3,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs), which accounts for approximately 10% of the known population, thanks to its extensive sky coverage.

The mission not only identified and studied NEOs, including asteroids and comets, but also provided infrared data with numerous applications in astronomy.

Joe Masiero, a research scientist at IPAC, emphasized the mission's significant contributions to time-domain science, enabling studies ranging from nearby asteroids to distant quasars.

Scientists praised NEOWISE for its ability to monitor changes in the sky, which advanced time-domain astronomy.

Yuna Kwon, an IPAC archive scientist, is leading a project called COSINE to catalog and analyze comets observed by NEOWISE, revealing insights into the solar system's formation.

The NEOWISE archive, managed by IPAC, will continue to be a vital resource for future astronomical studies as new tools and observatories emerge.

Future studies aim to integrate NEOWISE findings with data from upcoming observatories like NEO Surveyor and SPHEREx.

In tribute to the mission's success, IPAC is releasing six new images from NEOWISE's archive, showcasing previously unseen regions of cosmic dust and nebulae, including a notable image of the California Nebula.

The California Nebula, located about 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus constellation, is illuminated by the star Menkib and stretches across 100 light-years.

Throughout its operation, NEOWISE observed most areas of the sky at least 220 times, facilitating the study of objects that change in brightness or location.