fbpx
Wikipedia

Herschel Space Observatory

The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.[5] Herschel carries a 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror[5][6][7][8] and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO/Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta.

Herschel Space Observatory
Model of the Herschel Observatory
NamesFar Infrared and Submillimetre Telescope
Mission typeSpace telescope
OperatorESA / NASA
COSPAR ID2009-026K
SATCAT no.34937
Websitewww.esa.int/herschel
Mission durationPlanned: 3 years
Final: 4 years, 1 month, 2 days[1]
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Launch mass3,400 kg (7,500 lb)[2]
Payload massTelescope: 315 kg (694 lb)[2]
Dimensions7.5 m × 4.0 m (25 ft × 13 ft)[2]
Power1 kW
Start of mission
Launch date14 May 2009, 13:12:02 UTC (2009-05-14UTC13:12:02)
RocketAriane 5 ECA
Launch siteGuiana Space Centre,
French Guiana
ContractorArianespace
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Deactivated17 June 2013, 12:25 UTC (2013-06-17UTC12:26)[3]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemL2 point
(1,500,000 km / 930,000 mi)
RegimeLissajous
Main telescope
TypeRitchey–Chrétien
Diameter3.5 m (11 ft)
f/0.5 (primary mirror)[4]
Focal length28.5 m (94 ft)
f/8.7[4]
Collecting area9.6 m2 (103 sq ft)
Wavelengths55 to 672 µm (far infrared)
Instruments
HIFIHeterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared
PACSPhotodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer
SPIRESpectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver

ESA astrophysics insignia for Herschel
← Rosetta
Planck →
 

The observatory was carried into orbit by an Ariane 5 in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth–Sun system, 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) from Earth, about two months later. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.[9]

The observatory was capable of seeing the coldest and dustiest objects in space; for example, cool cocoons where stars form and dusty galaxies just starting to bulk up with new stars.[10] The observatory sifted through star-forming clouds—the "slow cookers" of star ingredients—to trace the path by which potentially life-forming molecules, such as water, form.

The telescope's lifespan was governed by the amount of coolant available for its instruments; when that coolant ran out, the instruments would stop functioning correctly. At the time of its launch, operations were estimated to last 3.5 years (to around the end of 2012).[11] It continued to operate until 29 April 2013 15:20 UTC, when Herschel ran out of coolant.[12]

NASA was a partner in the Herschel mission, with US participants contributing to the mission; providing mission-enabling instrument technology and sponsoring the NASA Herschel Science Center (NHSC) at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and the Herschel Data Search at the Infrared Science Archive.[13]

Development edit

In 1982 the Far Infrared and Sub-millimetre Telescope (FIRST) was proposed to ESA. The ESA long-term policy-plan "Horizon 2000", produced in 1984, called for a High Throughput Heterodyne Spectroscopy mission as one of its cornerstone missions. In 1986, FIRST was adopted as this cornerstone mission.[14] It was selected for implementation in 1993, following an industrial study in 1992–1993. The mission concept was redesigned from Earth-orbit to the Lagrangian point L2, in light of experience gained from the Infrared Space Observatory [(2.5–240 µm) 1995–1998]. In 2000, FIRST was renamed Herschel. After being put out to tender in 2000, industrial activities began in 2001.[15] Herschel was launched in 2009.

The Herschel mission cost €1,100 million.[16] This figure includes spacecraft and payload, launch and mission expenses, and science operations.[17]

Science edit

Herschel specialised in collecting light from objects in the Solar System as well as the Milky Way and even extragalactic objects billions of light-years away, such as newborn galaxies, and was charged with four primary areas of investigation:[18]

During the mission, Herschel "made over 35,000 scientific observations" and "amass[ed] more than 25,000 hours' worth of science data from about 600 different observing programs".[19]

Instrumentation edit

The mission involved the first space observatory to cover the full far infrared and submillimetre waveband.[18] At 3.5 metres wide (11 ft), Herschel carried the largest optical telescope ever deployed in space.[20] It was made not from glass but from sintered silicon carbide. The mirror's blank was manufactured by Boostec in Tarbes, France; ground and polished by Opteon Ltd. in Tuorla Observatory, Finland; and coated by vacuum deposition at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain.[21]

The light reflected by the mirror was focused onto three instruments, whose detectors were kept at temperatures below 2 K (−271 °C).[22] The instruments were cooled with over 2,300 litres (510 imp gal; 610 US gal) of liquid helium, boiling away in a near vacuum at a temperature of approximately 1.4 K (−272 °C). The supply of helium on board the spacecraft was a fundamental limit to the operational lifetime of the space observatory;[8] it was originally expected to be operational for at least three years.[23]

Herschel carried three detectors:[24]

PACS (Photodetecting Array Camera and Spectrometer)
An imaging camera and low-resolution spectrometer covering wavelengths from 55 to 210 micrometres, which was designed and built by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. The spectrometer had a spectral resolution between R=1000 and R=5000 and was able to detect signals as weak as −63 dB. It operated as an integral field spectrograph, combining spatial and spectral resolution. The imaging camera was able to image simultaneously in two bands (either 60–85/85–130 micrometres and 130–210 micrometres) with a detection limit of a few millijanskys.[25][26]
 
A model of the SPIRE instrument.
 
Herschel in a clean room
SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver)
An imaging camera and low-resolution spectrometer covering 194 to 672 micrometre wavelength. The spectrometer had a resolution between R=40 and R=1000 at a wavelength of 250 micrometres and was able to image point sources with brightnesses around 100 millijanskys (mJy) and extended sources with brightnesses of around 500 mJy.[27] The imaging camera had three bands, centred at 250, 350 and 500 micrometres, each with 139, 88 and 43 pixels respectively. It was able to detect point sources with brightness above 2 mJy and between 4 and 9 mJy for extended sources. A prototype of the SPIRE imaging camera flew on the BLAST high-altitude balloon. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., developed and built the "spider web" bolometers for this instrument, which is 40 times more sensitive than previous versions. The Herschel-SPIRE instrument was built by an international consortium comprising more than 18 institutes from eight countries, of which Cardiff University was the lead institute.[28]
HIFI (Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared)
A heterodyne detector able to electronically separate radiation of different wavelengths, giving a spectral resolution as high as R=107.[29] The spectrometer was operated within two wavelength bands, from 157 to 212 micrometres and from 240 to 625 micrometres. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research led the entire process of designing, constructing and testing HIFI. The HIFI Instrument Control Center, also under the leadership of SRON, was responsible for obtaining and analysing the data.

NASA developed and built the mixers, local oscillator chains and power amplifiers for this instrument.[30] The NASA Herschel Science Center, part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena, has contributed science planning and data analysis software.[31]

Service module edit

A common service module (SVM) was designed and built by Thales Alenia Space in its Turin plant for the Herschel and Planck missions, as they were combined into one single program.[32]

Structurally, the Herschel and Planck SVMs are very similar. Both SVMs are of octagonal shape and, for both, each panel is dedicated to accommodate a designated set of warm units, while taking into account the heat dissipation requirements of the different warm units, of the instruments, as well as the spacecraft.

Furthermore, on both spacecraft a common design has been achieved for the avionics systems, attitude control and measurement systems (ACMS), command and data management systems (CDMS), power subsystems and the tracking, telemetry, and command subsystem (TT&C).

All spacecraft units on the SVM are redundant.

Power subsystem edit

On each spacecraft, the power subsystem consists of the solar array, employing triple-junction solar cells, a battery and the power control unit (PCU). It is designed to interface with the 30 sections of each solar array, provide a regulated 28 V bus, distribute this power via protected outputs and to handle the battery charging and discharging.

For Herschel, the solar array is fixed on the bottom part of the baffle designed to protect the cryostat from the Sun. The three-axis attitude control system maintains this baffle in direction of the Sun. The top part of this baffle is covered with optical solar reflector (OSR) mirrors reflecting 98% of the Sun's energy, avoiding heating of the cryostat.

Attitude and orbit control edit

This function is performed by the attitude control computer (ACC) which is the platform for the ACMS. It is designed to fulfil the pointing and slewing requirements of the Herschel and Planck payload.

The Herschel spacecraft is three-axis stabilized. The absolute pointing error needs to be less than 3.7 arc seconds.

The main sensor of the line of sight in both spacecraft is the star tracker.

Launch and orbit edit

 
Animation of Herschel Space Observatory's trajectory from 14 May 2009 to 31 August 2013
  Herschel Space Observatory ·   Earth

The spacecraft, built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, under Thales Alenia Space Contractorship, was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 13:12:02 UTC on 14 May 2009, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, along with the Planck spacecraft, and placed on a very elliptical orbit on its way towards the second Lagrangian point.[33][34][35] The orbit's perigee was 270.0 km (intended 270.0±4.5), apogee 1,197,080 km (intended 1193622±151800), inclination 5.99 deg (intended 6.00±0.06).[36]

On 14 June 2009, ESA successfully sent the command for the cryocover to open which allowed the PACS system to see the sky and transmit images in a few weeks. The lid had to remain closed until the telescope was well into space to prevent contamination.[37]

Five days later the first set of test photos, depicting M51 Group, was published by ESA.[38]

In mid-July 2009, approximately sixty days after launch, it entered a halo orbit of 800,000 km average radius around the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth-Sun system, 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.[35][39]

Discoveries edit

 
Rosette Nebula image captured by Herschel

On 21 July 2009, Herschel commissioning was declared successful, allowing the start of the operational phase. A formal handover of the overall responsibility of Herschel was declared from the programme manager Thomas Passvogel to the mission manager Johannes Riedinger.[35]

 
André Brahic, astronomer, during a conference in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center

Herschel was instrumental in the discovery of an unknown and unexpected step in the star forming process. The initial confirmation and later verification via help from ground-based telescopes of a vast hole of empty space, previously believed to be a dark nebula, in the area of NGC 1999 shed new light in the way newly forming star regions discard the material which surround them.[40]

In July 2010 a special issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics was published with 152 papers on initial results from the observatory.[41]

A second special issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics was published in October 2010 concerning the sole HIFI instrument, due its technical failure which took it down over 6 months between August 2009 and February 2010.[42]

It was reported on 1 August 2011, that molecular oxygen had been definitively confirmed in space with the Herschel Space Telescope, the second time scientists have found the molecule in space. It had been previously reported by the Odin team.[43][44]

An October 2011 report published in Nature states that Herschel's measurements of deuterium levels in the comet Hartley 2 suggests that much of Earth's water could have initially come from cometary impacts.[45] On 20 October 2011, it was reported that oceans-worth of cold water vapor had been discovered in the accretion disc of a young star. Unlike warm water vapor, previously detected near forming stars, cold water vapor would be capable of forming comets which then could bring water to inner planets, as is theorized for the origin of water on Earth.[46]

On 18 April 2013, the Herschel team announced in another Nature paper that it had located an exceptional starburst galaxy which produced over 2,000 solar masses of stars a year. The galaxy, termed HFLS3, is located at z = 6.34, originating only 880 million years after the Big Bang.[47]

Just days before the end of its mission, ESA announced that Herschel's observations had led to the conclusion that water on Jupiter had been delivered as a result of the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1994.[48]

On 22 January 2014, ESA scientists using Herschel data reported the detection, for the first definitive time, of water vapor on the dwarf planet, Ceres, largest object in the asteroid belt.[49][50] The finding is unexpected because comets, not asteroids, are typically considered to "sprout jets and plumes". According to one of the scientists, "The lines are becoming more and more blurred between comets and asteroids."[50]

End of mission edit

 
Animation of Herschel Space Observatory's trajectory around Earth from 14 May 2009 to 31 December 2049
  Herschel Space Observatory ·   Earth

On 29 April 2013, ESA announced that Herschel's supply of liquid helium, used to cool the instruments and detectors on board, had been depleted, thus ending its mission.[12] At the time of the announcement, Herschel was approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. Because Herschel's orbit at the L2 point is unstable, ESA wanted to guide the craft on a known trajectory. ESA managers considered two options:

  • Place Herschel into a heliocentric orbit where it would not encounter Earth for at least several hundred years.
  • Guide Herschel on a course toward the Moon for a destructive high-speed collision that would help in the search for water at a lunar pole. Herschel would take about 100 days to reach the Moon.[51]

The managers chose the first option because it was less costly.[52]

On 17 June 2013, Herschel was fully deactivated, with its fuel tanks forcibly depleted and the onboard computer programmed to cease communications with Earth. The final command, which severed communications, was sent from European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) at 12:25 UTC.[3]

The mission's post-operations phase continued until 2017. The main tasks were consolidation and refinement of instrument calibration, to improve data quality, and data processing, to create a body of scientifically validated data.[53]

After Herschel edit

Following Herschel's demise, some European astronomers have pushed for the joint European-Japanese SPICA far-infrared observatory project, as well as ESA's continued partnership in NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.[12][54] James Webb covers the near-infrared spectrum from 0.6 to 28.5 µm, and SPICA covers the mid-to-far-infrared spectral range between 12 and 230 µm. While Herschel's dependence on liquid helium coolant limited the design life to around three years, SPICA would have used mechanical Joule-Thomson coolers to sustain cryogenic temperatures for a longer period of time. SPICA's sensitivity was to be two orders of magnitude higher than Herschel.[55]

NASA's proposed Origins Space Telescope (OST) would also observe in the far-infrared band of light. Europe is leading the study for one of OST's five instruments, the Heterodyne Receiver for OST (HERO).[56]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Amos, Jonathan (29 April 2013). "Herschel space telescope finishes mission". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Herschel: Vital stats". European Space Agency. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b Amos, Jonathan (17 June 2013). "Herschel telescope switched off". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b . Swiss Physical Society. March 2009. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes". Aerospaceguide. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  6. ^ . Euronews. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  7. ^ Amos, Jonathan (14 June 2009). "ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Herschel closes its eyes on the Universe". ESA. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Revealing the invisible: Caroline and William Herschel". ESA. 18 June 2000. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  10. ^ ESA Science & Technology: Herschel. Retrieved on 28 July 2010
  11. ^ . Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  12. ^ a b c Amos, Jonathan (29 April 2013). "Herschel space telescope finishes mission". BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  13. ^ "NSSDC Spacecraft Details: Herschel Space Observatory". NASA. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  14. ^ Pilbratt, Göran (August 1997). Wilson, A. (ed.). The FIRST Mission: Baseline, Science Objectives and Operations (PDF). ESA Symposium 'The Far InfraRed and Submillimetre Universe'. Vol. 401. European Space Agency. pp. 7–12. Bibcode:1997ESASP.401....7P. ESA SP-401. (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2023.
  15. ^ Pilbratt, G. L.; et al. (July 2010). "Herschel Space Observatory: An ESA facility for far-infrared and submillimetre astronomy". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 518. L1. arXiv:1005.5331. Bibcode:2010A&A...518L...1P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014759. S2CID 118533433.
  16. ^ "Largest Infrared Telescope In Space Running Out of Time". Space.com. 8 March 2013. from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Herschel: Fact Sheet" (PDF). ESA.int. ESA Media Relations Office. 28 April 2010. (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Herschel". European Space Agency Science & Technology. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  19. ^ Atkinson, Nancy (29 April 2013). "Herschel Space Telescope Closes Its Eyes on the Universe". Universe Today. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  20. ^ Sein, Emmanuel; Toulemont, Yves; Safa, Frederic; Duran, Michel; Deny, Pierre; de Chambure, Daniel; Passvogel, Thomas; Pilbratt, Goeran L. (March 2003). Mather, John C (ed.). "A Φ 3.5 M SiC telescope for Herschel Mission" (PDF). Proceedings of SPIE: IR Space Telescopes and Instruments. IR Space Telescopes and Instruments. SPIE. 4850: 606–618. Bibcode:2003SPIE.4850..606S. doi:10.1117/12.461804. S2CID 120086590.
  21. ^ "The largest telescope mirror ever put into space". ESA. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Herschel to finish observing soon". ESA. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  23. ^ Jonathan Amos (9 February 2009). "'Silver Sensation' Seeks Cold Cosmos". BBC News. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  24. ^ "Herschel: Science payload". European Space Agency. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  25. ^ "PACS – Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer" (PDF). Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  26. ^ "The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) for the Herschel Space Observatory" (PDF). Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  27. ^ "SPIRE – Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver" (PDF). European Space Agency. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  28. ^ "Herschel Instruments". Esa.int. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  29. ^ "HIFI – Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared" (PDF). European Space Agency. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  30. ^ "Herschel: Exploring the Birth of Stars and Galaxies". NASA.
  31. ^ "NASA Contributions". NASA/IPAC.
  32. ^ Planck Science Team (2005). (PDF) (Report). ESA-SCI (2005)-1. Version 2. European Space Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  33. ^ Leo Cendrowicz (14 May 2009). . Time. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  34. ^ (video). Arianespace. 14 May 2009. Archived from the original (.SWF) on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  35. ^ a b c Herschel Latest News, on line herschel.esac.esa.int
  36. ^ Herschel Science Centre Operations (B)Log. European Space Agency. 14 May 2009. Retrieved on 18 May 2009
  37. ^ Amos, Jonathan (14 June 2009). "Herschel telescope 'opens eyes'". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  38. ^ "Herschel's 'sneak preview': a glimpse of things to come". ESA. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  39. ^ "Herschel Factsheet". European Space Agency. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  40. ^ "Surprising Hole in Space Discovered by Herschel Telescope". Space.com. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  41. ^ "A&A special feature: Herschel: the first science highlights" (Press release). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 16 July 2010. ID# aa201003. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  42. ^ "Herschel/HIFI: first science highlights". Astronomy & Astrophysics. October 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  43. ^ Goldsmith, Paul F; Liseau, René; Bell, Tom A.; Black, John H.; Chen, Jo-Hsin; Hollenbach, David; Kaufman, Michael J.; Li, Di; Lis, Dariusz C.; Melnick, Gary; Neufeld, David; Pagani, Laurent; Snell, Ronald; Benz, Arnold O.; Bergin, Edwin; Bruderer, Simon; Caselli, Paola; Caux, Emmanuel; Encrenaz, Pierre; Falgarone, Edith; Gerin, Maryvonne; Goicoechea, Javier R.; Hjalmarson, Åke; Larsson, Bengt; Le Bourlot, Jacques; Le Petit, Franck; De Luca, Massimo; Nagy, Zsofia; Roueff, Evelyne; et al. (August 2011). "Herschel measurement of molecular oxygen in Orion". Astrophysical Journal. 737 (2): 96. arXiv:1108.0441. Bibcode:2011ApJ...737...96G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/737/2/96. S2CID 119289914.
  44. ^ Larsson, B; Liseau, R.; Pagani, L.; Bergman, P.; Bernath, P.; Biver, N.; Black, J. H.; Booth, R. S.; et al. (May 2007). "Molecular oxygen in the ρ Ophiuchi cloud". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 466 (3): 999–1003. arXiv:astro-ph/0702474. Bibcode:2007A&A...466..999L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065500. S2CID 7848330.
  45. ^ Cowen, Ron (5 October 2011). "Comets take pole position as water bearers". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2011.579.
  46. ^ (Press release). Herschel Space Observatory. 20 October 2011. ID# nhsc2011-018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  47. ^ Riechers, D. A.; Bradford, C. M.; Clements, D. L.; Dowell, C. D.; Pérez-Fournon, I.; Ivison, R. J.; Bridge, C.; Conley, A.; et al. (2013). "A dust-obscured massive maximum-starburst galaxy at a redshift of 6.34". Nature. 496 (7445): 329–333. arXiv:1304.4256. Bibcode:2013Natur.496..329R. doi:10.1038/nature12050. PMID 23598341. S2CID 4428367.
  48. ^ "Herschel links Jupiter's water to comet impact". Astronomy. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  49. ^ Küppers, Michael; O’Rourke, Laurence; Bockelée-Morvan, Dominique; Zakharov, Vladimir; Lee, Seungwon; von Allmen, Paul; Carry, Benoît; Teyssier, David; Marston, Anthony; Müller, Thomas; Crovisier, Jacques; Barucci, M. Antonietta; Moreno, Raphael (2014). "Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres". Nature. 505 (7484): 525–527. Bibcode:2014Natur.505..525K. doi:10.1038/nature12918. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 24451541. S2CID 4448395.
  50. ^ a b Harrington, J.D. (22 January 2014). "Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet – Release 14-021". NASA. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  51. ^ Clark, Stephen (26 October 2012). "Scientists could aim derelict telescope for moon impact". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  52. ^ Atkinson, Nancy (11 December 2012). "Herschel Spacecraft Won't 'Bomb' the Moon, But GRAIL Will". Universe Today. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  53. ^ "Infrared Space Astronomy: Herschel". Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  54. ^ "James Webb Space Telescope". NASA. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  55. ^ "The Sweet Spot: Spectroscopy from 12 to 230μm". SPICA project. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  56. ^ Cooray, Asantha (July 2017). "Origins Space Telescope" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 10 July 2018.

Further reading edit

  • Harwit, M. (2004). "The Herschel Mission". Advances in Space Research. 34 (3): 568–572. Bibcode:2004AdSpR..34..568H. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2003.03.026.
  • Dambeck, Thorsten (May 2009). "One Launch, Two New Explorers: Planck Readies to Dissect the Big Bang". Sky and Telescope. 117 (5): 24–28.

External links edit

  • ESA
    • Herschel mission website
    • Herschel science website
    • Herschel operations website
    • Herschel science results website
  • NASA
    • Herschel mission website
    • Herschel Science Center
    • NASA/IPAC Herschel archive
  • United Kingdom outreach website

herschel, space, observatory, this, article, about, space, telescope, ground, based, telescope, william, herschel, telescope, space, observatory, built, operated, european, space, agency, active, from, 2009, 2013, largest, infrared, telescope, ever, launched, . This article is about the space telescope For the ground based telescope see William Herschel Telescope The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency ESA It was active from 2009 to 2013 and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021 5 Herschel carries a 3 5 metre 11 5 ft mirror 5 6 7 8 and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands 55 672 µm Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme following SOHO Cluster II XMM Newton and Rosetta Herschel Space ObservatoryModel of the Herschel ObservatoryNamesFar Infrared and Submillimetre TelescopeMission typeSpace telescopeOperatorESA NASACOSPAR ID2009 026KSATCAT no 34937Websitewww wbr esa wbr int wbr herschelMission durationPlanned 3 years Final 4 years 1 month 2 days 1 Spacecraft propertiesManufacturerThales Alenia SpaceLaunch mass3 400 kg 7 500 lb 2 Payload massTelescope 315 kg 694 lb 2 Dimensions7 5 m 4 0 m 25 ft 13 ft 2 Power1 kWStart of missionLaunch date14 May 2009 13 12 02 UTC 2009 05 14UTC13 12 02 RocketAriane 5 ECALaunch siteGuiana Space Centre French GuianaContractorArianespaceEnd of missionDisposalDecommissionedDeactivated17 June 2013 12 25 UTC 2013 06 17UTC12 26 3 Orbital parametersReference systemL2 point 1 500 000 km 930 000 mi RegimeLissajousMain telescopeTypeRitchey ChretienDiameter3 5 m 11 ft f 0 5 primary mirror 4 Focal length28 5 m 94 ft f 8 7 4 Collecting area9 6 m2 103 sq ft Wavelengths55 to 672 µm far infrared InstrumentsHIFIHeterodyne Instrument for the Far InfraredPACSPhotodetector Array Camera and SpectrometerSPIRESpectral and Photometric Imaging ReceiverESA astrophysics insignia for Herschel Horizon 2000 RosettaPlanck The observatory was carried into orbit by an Ariane 5 in May 2009 reaching the second Lagrangian point L2 of the Earth Sun system 1 500 000 kilometres 930 000 mi from Earth about two months later Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel 9 The observatory was capable of seeing the coldest and dustiest objects in space for example cool cocoons where stars form and dusty galaxies just starting to bulk up with new stars 10 The observatory sifted through star forming clouds the slow cookers of star ingredients to trace the path by which potentially life forming molecules such as water form The telescope s lifespan was governed by the amount of coolant available for its instruments when that coolant ran out the instruments would stop functioning correctly At the time of its launch operations were estimated to last 3 5 years to around the end of 2012 11 It continued to operate until 29 April 2013 15 20 UTC when Herschel ran out of coolant 12 NASA was a partner in the Herschel mission with US participants contributing to the mission providing mission enabling instrument technology and sponsoring the NASA Herschel Science Center NHSC at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and the Herschel Data Search at the Infrared Science Archive 13 Contents 1 Development 2 Science 3 Instrumentation 4 Service module 4 1 Power subsystem 4 2 Attitude and orbit control 5 Launch and orbit 6 Discoveries 7 End of mission 7 1 After Herschel 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksDevelopment editIn 1982 the Far Infrared and Sub millimetre Telescope FIRST was proposed to ESA The ESA long term policy plan Horizon 2000 produced in 1984 called for a High Throughput Heterodyne Spectroscopy mission as one of its cornerstone missions In 1986 FIRST was adopted as this cornerstone mission 14 It was selected for implementation in 1993 following an industrial study in 1992 1993 The mission concept was redesigned from Earth orbit to the Lagrangian point L2 in light of experience gained from the Infrared Space Observatory 2 5 240 µm 1995 1998 In 2000 FIRST was renamed Herschel After being put out to tender in 2000 industrial activities began in 2001 15 Herschel was launched in 2009 The Herschel mission cost 1 100 million 16 This figure includes spacecraft and payload launch and mission expenses and science operations 17 Science editHerschel specialised in collecting light from objects in the Solar System as well as the Milky Way and even extragalactic objects billions of light years away such as newborn galaxies and was charged with four primary areas of investigation 18 Galaxy formation in the early universe and the evolution of galaxies Star formation and its interaction with the interstellar medium Chemical composition of atmospheres and surfaces of Solar System bodies including planets comets and moons Molecular chemistry across the universe During the mission Herschel made over 35 000 scientific observations and amass ed more than 25 000 hours worth of science data from about 600 different observing programs 19 Instrumentation editThe mission involved the first space observatory to cover the full far infrared and submillimetre waveband 18 At 3 5 metres wide 11 ft Herschel carried the largest optical telescope ever deployed in space 20 It was made not from glass but from sintered silicon carbide The mirror s blank was manufactured by Boostec in Tarbes France ground and polished by Opteon Ltd in Tuorla Observatory Finland and coated by vacuum deposition at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain 21 The light reflected by the mirror was focused onto three instruments whose detectors were kept at temperatures below 2 K 271 C 22 The instruments were cooled with over 2 300 litres 510 imp gal 610 US gal of liquid helium boiling away in a near vacuum at a temperature of approximately 1 4 K 272 C The supply of helium on board the spacecraft was a fundamental limit to the operational lifetime of the space observatory 8 it was originally expected to be operational for at least three years 23 Herschel carried three detectors 24 PACS Photodetecting Array Camera and Spectrometer An imaging camera and low resolution spectrometer covering wavelengths from 55 to 210 micrometres which was designed and built by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics The spectrometer had a spectral resolution between R 1000 and R 5000 and was able to detect signals as weak as 63 dB It operated as an integral field spectrograph combining spatial and spectral resolution The imaging camera was able to image simultaneously in two bands either 60 85 85 130 micrometres and 130 210 micrometres with a detection limit of a few millijanskys 25 26 nbsp A model of the SPIRE instrument nbsp Herschel in a clean roomSPIRE Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver An imaging camera and low resolution spectrometer covering 194 to 672 micrometre wavelength The spectrometer had a resolution between R 40 and R 1000 at a wavelength of 250 micrometres and was able to image point sources with brightnesses around 100 millijanskys mJy and extended sources with brightnesses of around 500 mJy 27 The imaging camera had three bands centred at 250 350 and 500 micrometres each with 139 88 and 43 pixels respectively It was able to detect point sources with brightness above 2 mJy and between 4 and 9 mJy for extended sources A prototype of the SPIRE imaging camera flew on the BLAST high altitude balloon NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena Calif developed and built the spider web bolometers for this instrument which is 40 times more sensitive than previous versions The Herschel SPIRE instrument was built by an international consortium comprising more than 18 institutes from eight countries of which Cardiff University was the lead institute 28 HIFI Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared A heterodyne detector able to electronically separate radiation of different wavelengths giving a spectral resolution as high as R 107 29 The spectrometer was operated within two wavelength bands from 157 to 212 micrometres and from 240 to 625 micrometres SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research led the entire process of designing constructing and testing HIFI The HIFI Instrument Control Center also under the leadership of SRON was responsible for obtaining and analysing the data NASA developed and built the mixers local oscillator chains and power amplifiers for this instrument 30 The NASA Herschel Science Center part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology also in Pasadena has contributed science planning and data analysis software 31 Service module editA common service module SVM was designed and built by Thales Alenia Space in its Turin plant for the Herschel and Planck missions as they were combined into one single program 32 Structurally the Herschel and Planck SVMs are very similar Both SVMs are of octagonal shape and for both each panel is dedicated to accommodate a designated set of warm units while taking into account the heat dissipation requirements of the different warm units of the instruments as well as the spacecraft Furthermore on both spacecraft a common design has been achieved for the avionics systems attitude control and measurement systems ACMS command and data management systems CDMS power subsystems and the tracking telemetry and command subsystem TT amp C All spacecraft units on the SVM are redundant Power subsystem edit On each spacecraft the power subsystem consists of the solar array employing triple junction solar cells a battery and the power control unit PCU It is designed to interface with the 30 sections of each solar array provide a regulated 28 V bus distribute this power via protected outputs and to handle the battery charging and discharging For Herschel the solar array is fixed on the bottom part of the baffle designed to protect the cryostat from the Sun The three axis attitude control system maintains this baffle in direction of the Sun The top part of this baffle is covered with optical solar reflector OSR mirrors reflecting 98 of the Sun s energy avoiding heating of the cryostat Attitude and orbit control edit This function is performed by the attitude control computer ACC which is the platform for the ACMS It is designed to fulfil the pointing and slewing requirements of the Herschel and Planck payload The Herschel spacecraft is three axis stabilized The absolute pointing error needs to be less than 3 7 arc seconds The main sensor of the line of sight in both spacecraft is the star tracker Launch and orbit edit nbsp Animation of Herschel Space Observatory s trajectory from 14 May 2009 to 31 August 2013 Herschel Space Observatory EarthThe spacecraft built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center under Thales Alenia Space Contractorship was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 13 12 02 UTC on 14 May 2009 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket along with the Planck spacecraft and placed on a very elliptical orbit on its way towards the second Lagrangian point 33 34 35 The orbit s perigee was 270 0 km intended 270 0 4 5 apogee 1 197 080 km intended 1193 622 151800 inclination 5 99 deg intended 6 00 0 06 36 On 14 June 2009 ESA successfully sent the command for the cryocover to open which allowed the PACS system to see the sky and transmit images in a few weeks The lid had to remain closed until the telescope was well into space to prevent contamination 37 Five days later the first set of test photos depicting M51 Group was published by ESA 38 In mid July 2009 approximately sixty days after launch it entered a halo orbit of 800 000 km average radius around the second Lagrangian point L2 of the Earth Sun system 1 5 million kilometres from the Earth 35 39 Discoveries edit nbsp Rosette Nebula image captured by HerschelOn 21 July 2009 Herschel commissioning was declared successful allowing the start of the operational phase A formal handover of the overall responsibility of Herschel was declared from the programme manager Thomas Passvogel to the mission manager Johannes Riedinger 35 nbsp Andre Brahic astronomer during a conference in the Cannes Mandelieu Space CenterHerschel was instrumental in the discovery of an unknown and unexpected step in the star forming process The initial confirmation and later verification via help from ground based telescopes of a vast hole of empty space previously believed to be a dark nebula in the area of NGC 1999 shed new light in the way newly forming star regions discard the material which surround them 40 In July 2010 a special issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics was published with 152 papers on initial results from the observatory 41 A second special issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics was published in October 2010 concerning the sole HIFI instrument due its technical failure which took it down over 6 months between August 2009 and February 2010 42 It was reported on 1 August 2011 that molecular oxygen had been definitively confirmed in space with the Herschel Space Telescope the second time scientists have found the molecule in space It had been previously reported by the Odin team 43 44 An October 2011 report published in Nature states that Herschel s measurements of deuterium levels in the comet Hartley 2 suggests that much of Earth s water could have initially come from cometary impacts 45 On 20 October 2011 it was reported that oceans worth of cold water vapor had been discovered in the accretion disc of a young star Unlike warm water vapor previously detected near forming stars cold water vapor would be capable of forming comets which then could bring water to inner planets as is theorized for the origin of water on Earth 46 On 18 April 2013 the Herschel team announced in another Nature paper that it had located an exceptional starburst galaxy which produced over 2 000 solar masses of stars a year The galaxy termed HFLS3 is located at z 6 34 originating only 880 million years after the Big Bang 47 Just days before the end of its mission ESA announced that Herschel s observations had led to the conclusion that water on Jupiter had been delivered as a result of the collision of Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 in 1994 48 On 22 January 2014 ESA scientists using Herschel data reported the detection for the first definitive time of water vapor on the dwarf planet Ceres largest object in the asteroid belt 49 50 The finding is unexpected because comets not asteroids are typically considered to sprout jets and plumes According to one of the scientists The lines are becoming more and more blurred between comets and asteroids 50 End of mission edit nbsp Animation of Herschel Space Observatory s trajectory around Earth from 14 May 2009 to 31 December 2049 Herschel Space Observatory EarthOn 29 April 2013 ESA announced that Herschel s supply of liquid helium used to cool the instruments and detectors on board had been depleted thus ending its mission 12 At the time of the announcement Herschel was approximately 1 5 million km from Earth Because Herschel s orbit at the L2 point is unstable ESA wanted to guide the craft on a known trajectory ESA managers considered two options Place Herschel into a heliocentric orbit where it would not encounter Earth for at least several hundred years Guide Herschel on a course toward the Moon for a destructive high speed collision that would help in the search for water at a lunar pole Herschel would take about 100 days to reach the Moon 51 The managers chose the first option because it was less costly 52 On 17 June 2013 Herschel was fully deactivated with its fuel tanks forcibly depleted and the onboard computer programmed to cease communications with Earth The final command which severed communications was sent from European Space Operations Centre ESOC at 12 25 UTC 3 The mission s post operations phase continued until 2017 The main tasks were consolidation and refinement of instrument calibration to improve data quality and data processing to create a body of scientifically validated data 53 After Herschel edit Following Herschel s demise some European astronomers have pushed for the joint European Japanese SPICA far infrared observatory project as well as ESA s continued partnership in NASA s James Webb Space Telescope 12 54 James Webb covers the near infrared spectrum from 0 6 to 28 5 µm and SPICA covers the mid to far infrared spectral range between 12 and 230 µm While Herschel s dependence on liquid helium coolant limited the design life to around three years SPICA would have used mechanical Joule Thomson coolers to sustain cryogenic temperatures for a longer period of time SPICA s sensitivity was to be two orders of magnitude higher than Herschel 55 NASA s proposed Origins Space Telescope OST would also observe in the far infrared band of light Europe is leading the study for one of OST s five instruments the Heterodyne Receiver for OST HERO 56 See also edit nbsp Astronomy portal nbsp Spaceflight portalAtacama Large Millimeter Array ALMA Spitzer Space Telescope List of largest infrared telescopes List of largest optical reflecting telescopes List of space telescopesReferences edit Amos Jonathan 29 April 2013 Herschel space telescope finishes mission BBC News Retrieved 4 May 2015 a b c Herschel Vital stats European Space Agency Retrieved 4 May 2015 a b Amos Jonathan 17 June 2013 Herschel telescope switched off BBC News Retrieved 17 June 2013 a b The Herschel Space Observatory Swiss Physical Society March 2009 Archived from the original on 21 November 2015 Retrieved 4 May 2015 a b ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes Aerospaceguide Retrieved 3 December 2010 ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes Euronews Archived from the original on 28 February 2010 Retrieved 3 December 2010 Amos Jonathan 14 June 2009 ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes BBC Retrieved 3 December 2010 a b Herschel closes its eyes on the Universe ESA Retrieved 29 April 2013 Revealing the invisible Caroline and William Herschel ESA 18 June 2000 Retrieved 22 July 2010 ESA Science amp Technology Herschel Retrieved on 28 July 2010 Infrared Space Astronomy Herschel Max Planck Institut fur Astronomie Archived from the original on 29 June 2009 Retrieved 29 June 2009 a b c Amos Jonathan 29 April 2013 Herschel space telescope finishes mission BBC News Retrieved 29 April 2013 NSSDC Spacecraft Details Herschel Space Observatory NASA Retrieved 3 July 2010 Pilbratt Goran August 1997 Wilson A ed The FIRST Mission Baseline Science Objectives and Operations PDF ESA Symposium The Far InfraRed and Submillimetre Universe Vol 401 European Space Agency pp 7 12 Bibcode 1997ESASP 401 7P ESA SP 401 Archived PDF from the original on 31 May 2023 Pilbratt G L et al July 2010 Herschel Space Observatory An ESA facility for far infrared and submillimetre astronomy Astronomy and Astrophysics 518 L1 arXiv 1005 5331 Bibcode 2010A amp A 518L 1P doi 10 1051 0004 6361 201014759 S2CID 118533433 Largest Infrared Telescope In Space Running Out of Time Space com 8 March 2013 Archived from the original on 8 November 2021 Retrieved 18 April 2022 Herschel Fact Sheet PDF ESA int ESA Media Relations Office 28 April 2010 Archived PDF from the original on 18 October 2012 a b Herschel European Space Agency Science amp Technology Retrieved 29 September 2007 Atkinson Nancy 29 April 2013 Herschel Space Telescope Closes Its Eyes on the Universe Universe Today Retrieved 29 April 2013 Sein Emmanuel Toulemont Yves Safa Frederic Duran Michel Deny Pierre de Chambure Daniel Passvogel Thomas Pilbratt Goeran L March 2003 Mather John C ed A F 3 5 M SiC telescope for Herschel Mission PDF Proceedings of SPIE IR Space Telescopes and Instruments IR Space Telescopes and Instruments SPIE 4850 606 618 Bibcode 2003SPIE 4850 606S doi 10 1117 12 461804 S2CID 120086590 The largest telescope mirror ever put into space ESA Retrieved 19 July 2013 Herschel to finish observing soon ESA 5 March 2013 Retrieved 18 July 2014 Jonathan Amos 9 February 2009 Silver Sensation Seeks Cold Cosmos BBC News Retrieved 6 March 2009 Herschel Science payload European Space Agency 20 November 2008 Retrieved 7 March 2009 PACS Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer PDF Retrieved 29 September 2007 The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer PACS for the Herschel Space Observatory PDF Retrieved 19 August 2009 SPIRE Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver PDF European Space Agency Retrieved 29 September 2007 Herschel Instruments Esa int Retrieved 2 May 2013 HIFI Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared PDF European Space Agency Retrieved 29 September 2007 Herschel Exploring the Birth of Stars and Galaxies NASA NASA Contributions NASA IPAC Planck Science Team 2005 Planck The Scientific Programme Blue Book PDF Report ESA SCI 2005 1 Version 2 European Space Agency Archived from the original PDF on 19 March 2009 Retrieved 6 March 2009 Leo Cendrowicz 14 May 2009 Two Telescopes to Measure the Big Bang Time Archived from the original on 15 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 Launch of Herschel and Planck satellites video Arianespace 14 May 2009 Archived from the original SWF on 17 May 2009 Retrieved 16 May 2009 a b c Herschel Latest News on line herschel esac esa int Herschel Science Centre Operations B Log European Space Agency 14 May 2009 Retrieved on 18 May 2009 Amos Jonathan 14 June 2009 Herschel telescope opens eyes BBC News Retrieved 14 June 2009 Herschel s sneak preview a glimpse of things to come ESA 19 June 2009 Retrieved 19 June 2009 Herschel Factsheet European Space Agency 17 April 2009 Retrieved 12 May 2009 Surprising Hole in Space Discovered by Herschel Telescope Space com 11 May 2010 Retrieved 1 May 2012 A amp A special feature Herschel the first science highlights Press release Astronomy amp Astrophysics 16 July 2010 ID aa201003 Retrieved 1 May 2012 Herschel HIFI first science highlights Astronomy amp Astrophysics October 2010 Retrieved 1 May 2012 Goldsmith Paul F Liseau Rene Bell Tom A Black John H Chen Jo Hsin Hollenbach David Kaufman Michael J Li Di Lis Dariusz C Melnick Gary Neufeld David Pagani Laurent Snell Ronald Benz Arnold O Bergin Edwin Bruderer Simon Caselli Paola Caux Emmanuel Encrenaz Pierre Falgarone Edith Gerin Maryvonne Goicoechea Javier R Hjalmarson Ake Larsson Bengt Le Bourlot Jacques Le Petit Franck De Luca Massimo Nagy Zsofia Roueff Evelyne et al August 2011 Herschel measurement of molecular oxygen in Orion Astrophysical Journal 737 2 96 arXiv 1108 0441 Bibcode 2011ApJ 737 96G doi 10 1088 0004 637X 737 2 96 S2CID 119289914 Larsson B Liseau R Pagani L Bergman P Bernath P Biver N Black J H Booth R S et al May 2007 Molecular oxygen in the r Ophiuchi cloud Astronomy amp Astrophysics 466 3 999 1003 arXiv astro ph 0702474 Bibcode 2007A amp A 466 999L doi 10 1051 0004 6361 20065500 S2CID 7848330 Cowen Ron 5 October 2011 Comets take pole position as water bearers Nature doi 10 1038 news 2011 579 Herschel Finds Oceans of Water in Disk of Nearby Star Press release Herschel Space Observatory 20 October 2011 ID nhsc2011 018 Archived from the original on 15 November 2013 Retrieved 1 May 2012 Riechers D A Bradford C M Clements D L Dowell C D Perez Fournon I Ivison R J Bridge C Conley A et al 2013 A dust obscured massive maximum starburst galaxy at a redshift of 6 34 Nature 496 7445 329 333 arXiv 1304 4256 Bibcode 2013Natur 496 329R doi 10 1038 nature12050 PMID 23598341 S2CID 4428367 Herschel links Jupiter s water to comet impact Astronomy 23 April 2013 Retrieved 29 April 2013 Kuppers Michael O Rourke Laurence Bockelee Morvan Dominique Zakharov Vladimir Lee Seungwon von Allmen Paul Carry Benoit Teyssier David Marston Anthony Muller Thomas Crovisier Jacques Barucci M Antonietta Moreno Raphael 2014 Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet 1 Ceres Nature 505 7484 525 527 Bibcode 2014Natur 505 525K doi 10 1038 nature12918 ISSN 0028 0836 PMID 24451541 S2CID 4448395 a b Harrington J D 22 January 2014 Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet Release 14 021 NASA Retrieved 22 January 2014 Clark Stephen 26 October 2012 Scientists could aim derelict telescope for moon impact Spaceflight Now Retrieved 2 May 2013 Atkinson Nancy 11 December 2012 Herschel Spacecraft Won t Bomb the Moon But GRAIL Will Universe Today Retrieved 4 May 2013 Infrared Space Astronomy Herschel Max Planck Institut fur Astronomie Retrieved 29 April 2013 James Webb Space Telescope NASA Retrieved 29 May 2016 The Sweet Spot Spectroscopy from 12 to 230mm SPICA project 7 April 2017 Retrieved 9 July 2018 Cooray Asantha July 2017 Origins Space Telescope PDF NASA Retrieved 10 July 2018 Further reading editHarwit M 2004 The Herschel Mission Advances in Space Research 34 3 568 572 Bibcode 2004AdSpR 34 568H doi 10 1016 j asr 2003 03 026 Dambeck Thorsten May 2009 One Launch Two New Explorers Planck Readies to Dissect the Big Bang Sky and Telescope 117 5 24 28 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Herschel space telescope nbsp Wikinews has related news ESA launches Herschel Space Observatory and Planck Satellite ESA Herschel mission website Herschel science website Herschel operations website Herschel science results website NASA Herschel mission website Herschel Science Center NASA IPAC Herschel archive United Kingdom outreach website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Herschel Space Observatory amp oldid 1173495500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.