With a mirror measuring 3.5m in diameter, the Herschel Space Observatory is the largest telescope ever to be flown into space.
Launched by the European Space Agency in May 2009, it is currently orbiting the Sun at a position 1.5 million km away from Earth. By operating in the infrared region of the spectrum, the telescope is able to 'see through' gas and dust clouds which can block visible light. Scientists using the telescope hope that this will tell them more about the formation of stars and galaxies.
Image: An artist's impression of the Herschel spacecraft (credit: ESA)
Sir Patrick Moore's guest demonstrates how astronomers use infrared light in spacecraft such as the Herschel Space Observatory and in Earth-based telescopes such as UKIRT.
Sir Patrick Moore and his guests discuss the aims of the Herschel Space Observatory mission. The instrument is able to 'see through' dust clouds by collecting infrared light.
The Sky at Night's Dr Chris Lintott reports on the launch of the Herschel and Planck satellites from the European Space Agency's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Herschel Space Observatory is a European Space Agency space observatory sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands. It is the largest infrared space telescope ever launched, carrying a single mirror of 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) in diameter.
The observatory was carried into orbit in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth-Sun system, 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) from the 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.
The Herschel Observatory is 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. The observatory will sift 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 United States through NASA is participating in the ESA-built and -operated observatory. It is the fourth 'cornerstone' mission in the ESA science program, along with Rosetta, Planck, and the Gaia mission.
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