William Atkins
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 19:58
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 4
Originally called Far InfraRed and Submillimetre Telescope (FIRST), the probe was renamed for English astronomer William Herschel, who discovered that infrared radiation exists along with visible radiation (or visible light).
With a 3.5-meter primary mirror and three high-tech photometry or spectroscopy instruments,
Herschel will provide scientists with new data on the most distant stars and galaxies, those that formed first in our very early Universe. It will also study our own Solar System.
The
Herschel Telescope will observe the Universe when it was first forming stars and galaxies.
The Herschel Science Centre states that Herschel
“… has the potential of elucidating structure formation in the universe, resolving the far infrared cosmic background, revealing cosmologically evolving AGN [active galactic nucleus]/starburst symbiosis and galaxy evolution at the epochs when most stars in the universe were formed, unveiling the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium and its molecular clouds, the wombs of the stars, and unravelling the mechanisms governing the formation of and evolution of stars and their planetary systems, including our own solar system putting it into context.” [
http://herschel.esac.esa.int/]
In summary,
“Herschel will open a new window to study how the universe has evolved to become the universe we see today, and how our star the sun, our planet the earth, and we ourselves fit in.”
Paul Goldsmith, NASA project scientist for Herschel, states,
"We haven't had ready access to the wavelengths between infrared and microwaves before, in part because Earth's atmosphere blocks them from reaching the ground. Because our views were so limited before, we can expect a vast range of serendipitous discoveries, from new molecules in interstellar space to new types of objects." [NASA]
Upon its launch. Herschel will become the largest space observatory to ever be sent into space. It is expected to function for about 3.5 years, primarily because one of its instruments must be cooled to 0.3 Kelvin with liquid helium—which is expected to last for that amount of time.
Page three continues with the Planck mission.
