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GALEX

GALEX, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, was a NASA ultraviolet space telescope launched in 2003 as part of the Small Explorer program. The mission surveyed the sky in two ultraviolet channels, Far-Ultraviolet (FUV) and Near-Ultraviolet (NUV), to study how galaxies and stars form and evolve over cosmic time. Equipped with a wide-field telescope, GALEX produced large-area ultraviolet images and catalogs of UV-bright sources.

Observing programs included the All-Sky Imaging Survey (AIS), the Medium Imaging Survey (MIS), and the Deep Imaging

GALEX operated for about a decade, with science operations beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2013, after

Impact and legacy: GALEX produced the largest UV imaging survey to date, informing models of galaxy evolution

Survey
(DIS).
It
conducted
all-sky
mapping
in
the
UV
and
performed
deeper
pointed
observations
near
selected
fields.
The
data
enabled
measurements
of
star
formation
rates,
the
distribution
of
young
stars,
and
the
effects
of
dust
attenuation
in
galaxies.
which
it
gradually
wound
down
as
consumables
were
depleted.
Data
from
GALEX
have
been
released
publicly
and
are
accessible
through
the
Mikulski
Archive
for
Space
Telescopes
(MAST).
and
star
formation
over
a
large
fraction
of
the
universe.
The
mission's
UV
catalogs
and
imaging
data
continue
to
support
multi-wavelength
studies,
archival
research,
and
calibration
for
newer
ultraviolet
facilities.