Share this article Share this article COLUMBIA, Md, April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After making numerous discoveries of how magnetic fields shape our universe, an instrument flying on board the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), is about to get even faster at gathering data. SOFIA is upgrading the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-Plus, or HAWC+ with four new detectors that will allow it to study magnetic fields in distant galaxies four times faster than its current rate. "We want to speed up the pace of scientific discovery, and we can do that by making HAWC+ even better," said Dr. Margaret Meixner, Director of Science Mission Operations at Universities Space Research Association. "This upgrade is part of a number of initiatives we're implementing to take SOFIA into the future."