Basic Information What is this? A view of thousands of distant galaxies, in a patch of sky called GOODS-North Where is it in the sky? In the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear How big is it? The image is half a degree across – about the size of the Full Moon How far …
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Spectrum of massive star VY Canis Majoris
Basic Information What is this? A red hypergiant star, nearing the end of its life Where is it in the sky? In the constellation of Canis Major How big is it? About 2000 times the diameter of our Sun, about 30 times the mass How far away is it? About 5000 light years What do …
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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 …
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Messier 82
Basic Information What is this? A spectrum of the starburst galaxy Messier 82, with an inset showing the Herschel image of Messier 82 along with its nearby neighbour Messier 81 Where is it in the sky? In the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear How big is it? The galaxy is around 40,000 light …
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 …
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The Southern Cross
Basic Information What is this? A portion of the Galactic Plane Where is it in the sky? In the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross How big is it? The image is about 2 degrees across How far away is it? Looking through the plane of the Galaxy, up to several thousand light years away …
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 …
Spiral Galaxy M74
Basic Information What is this? A spiral galaxy Where is it in the sky? In the constellation of Pisces the Fish How big is it? About the same size as our Milky Way Galaxy How far away is it? About 30 million light years What do the colours represent? This is an image taken by …
Spectacular first observations with Herschel!
Only one day after the cover was opened on Herschel, the PACS camera made some trial observations, just to have a quick first look without even trying to set up the instrument. The results were spectacular! “These amazing images, produced on the very first observing day without any time spent yet to set up or …
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