Principal scientific aims for FUSE

The FUSE wavelength region is hitherto largely unexplored. In the 1970s, the Copernicus mission opened the far-UV universe by obtaining spectra of bright, nearby hot stars (within 3000 light years of the Sun). Two telescopes, HUT and ORFEUS, flown on Shuttle missions, have also provided brief but tantalizing glimpses into the far-UV. FUSE will be able to observe sources more than 10,000 times fainter than Copernicus, reaching faint, distant objects in our Galaxy and beyond.

The spectral window opened by FUSE will permit the study of many important atoms, ions, and molecules that cannot be investigated otherwise. The wavelength range that FUSE will explore, is extremely rich in spectral lines arising within the interstellar gas, the material from which stars and planets form. The far-UV range also provides an opportunity to answer important questions about many types of astrophysical objects, such as the nuclear regions of active galaxies and quasars, massive stars, supernovae, planetary nebulae, and the outer atmospheres of cool stars and planets.