Celestial wish list

Astronomers prioritize projects for the coming decade

Astronomers tasked with compiling a priority list of U.S. astronomy projects for the next decade are seeing red, and not just because of NASA’s meager science budget. A National Research Council report released August 13 ranks several telescopes observing the universe at infrared and at even longer, redder wavelengths among the highest-priority instruments to be developed between 2012 and 2021.