The telescope was trained on a core of gas and dust known as L1014 which had previously appeared completely dark to ground-based observatories and to ISO (Infrared Space Observatory), a predecessor to Spitzer.
Ďalekohľad bol otestovaný na plynnom jadre a prachu známom ako L1014, ktoré sa predtým zemským observatóriám a ďalekohľadu ISO (Infrared Space Observatory - infračervený vesmírny ďalekohľad, predchodca Spitzera) javilo ako úplne tmavé.