Seeing Between the lines: First spectra from SPIRE

Spectrometers on board all three Hershel instruments have been used to analyse the light from objects inside our galaxy and from other galaxies, producing some of the best measurements yet of atoms and molecules involved in the birth and death of stars.  This includes the first results from the SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), which …

A top invention of 2009

Alongside teleportation and the AIDS vaccine, the Herschel Space Observatory has been voted one of the greatest inventions of 2009 by Time magazine. Herschel is placed at number 7 in the list of 50 inventions, which also includes the Electric Eye and the Personal Carbon Footprint. Herschel’s position on this list is a tribute to the dedication and …

Herschel’s cameras combine to show the galaxy in a new light

Spectacular new images of interstellar material in our galaxy have been produced, using the UK-led SPIRE camera in tandem with Herschel’s other camera, PACS. The new pictures, made during the first trial run with the two instruments operating at the same time, have unveiled a small part of our Milky Way Galaxy as we have …

Beautiful first images from SPIRE

Stunning “first-light” astronomical images have just been produced by UK-led SPIRE instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory. On June 24 2009, the SPIRE instrument was able to observe the sky for the first time since its launch in May. The telescope was trained on two galaxies called M66 and M74 to get a first impression of exactly what …