Latest Herschel Space Observatory Stories

  Reaching one of the most mysterious planets in our Solar System takes enormous power and finesse. ESA has now firmly entrusted its precious Mercury explorer to Europe’s largest rocket – the Ariane 5. ESA today signed the contract with Arianespace to launch its BepiColombo mission on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Europe's first mission to probe the Solar System's innermost planet will depart in July 2014. BepiColombo's sensors will completely map...

  ESA's Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that galaxies do not need to collide with each other to drive vigorous star birth. The finding overturns this long-held assumption and paints a more stately picture of how galaxies evolve. The conclusion is based on Herschel's observations of two patches of sky, each about a third of the size of the full Moon. It's like looking through a keyhole across the Universe – Herschel has seen more than a thousand galaxies at a...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Herschel Space Observatory's large telescope and state-of-the-art infrared detectors have provided the first confirmed finding of oxygen molecules in space. The molecules were discovered in the Orion star-forming complex. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Individual atoms of oxygen are common in space, particularly around massive stars. But, molecular oxygen, which makes up about 20 percent of the air we...

The Herschel Space Observatory's large telescope and state-of-the-art infrared detectors have provided the first confirmed finding of oxygen molecules in space. The molecules were discovered in the Orion star-forming complex.Individual atoms of oxygen are common in space, particularly around massive stars. But, molecular oxygen, which makes up about 20 percent of the air we breathe, has eluded astronomers until now."Oxygen gas was discovered in the 1770s, but it's taken us more than 230...

New observations from the Herschel Space Observatory show a bizarre, twisted ring of dense gas at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Only a few portions of the ring, which stretches across more than 600 light-years, were known before. Herschel's view reveals the entire ring for the first time, and a strange kink that has astronomers scratching their heads."We have looked at this region at the center of the Milky Way many times before in the infrared," said Alberto Noriega-Crespo of...

ESA's Herschel Space Observatory has detected cosmic dust from a supernova, adding to the theory that these cosmic fireworks are responsible for its creation. The astronomers who used Herschel to make the discovery said origin of the dust is important because it plays a crucial role in the formation of stars, particularly billions of years ago when star formation was at its peak.  "Interestingly, this brand new clue does not come from observations of very distant galaxies, but from...

All space missions have one inescapable dependency: the electricity flowing through their systems to keep them alive. Take away its power and a spacecraft is nothing more than space debris "“ an eventuality the space power professionals strive to avoid. Next week sees more than 250 experts come together at an ESA-organized conference on power systems. The Ninth European Space Power Conference (ESPC) will take place on 6"“10 June in Saint Raphaël on France's Côte d'Azur, jointly...

ESA's Herschel infrared space observatory has detected raging winds of molecular gas streaming away from galaxies. Suspected for years, these outflows may have the power to strip galaxies of gas and halt star formation in its tracks.The winds that Herschel has detected are extraordinary. The fastest is blowing at a speed of more than 1000 km/s, or about 10 000 times faster than the wind in a terrestrial hurricane.This is the first time that such molecular gas outflows have been unequivocally...

Technology developed for space missions to study the most distant objects in the Universe is now finding a host of practical applications back on Earth. QMC Instruments Ltd., in partnership with the Astronomical instrumentation Group at Cardiff University, has built instruments for many major space missions, including Herschel and Planck. Now, expanding on that experience they are developing KIDCAM, a kind of detector that could have applications in hospitals, factories and airports. Ken Wood...

ESA's Herschel space observatory has revealed that nearby interstellar clouds contain networks of tangled gaseous filaments. Intriguingly, each filament is approximately the same width, hinting that they may result from interstellar sonic booms throughout our Galaxy. The filaments are huge, stretching for tens of light years through space and Herschel has shown that newly-born stars are often found in the densest parts of them. One filament imaged by Herschel in the Aquila region contains...