First scientific results from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was successfully launched on 25 January 1983 and terminated science data acquisition on 22 November 1983. The in -orbit performance of the telescope has been described in two previous papers in these proceedings.1'2 A previous description of very preliminary scientific results from the mission has been given in these proceedings3, while far more extensive reports have been given elsewhere415. In this paper we will summarize some of the results obtained to date from the IRAS data. The work to date has sampled only a small fraction of the IRAS data; the study of the data from the IRAS survey will continue for many years to come.