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Herschel Space Observatory
Science & Technology
Facilities Council
Herschel 2.indd 1
03/03/2011 15:46
The Herschel Space Observatory was launched in May 2009, and is
now 1.5 million km away from Earth. It’s main mirror is 3.5 metres in
diameter, the largest ever launched. Herschel is led by the European
Space Agency, but is an international consortium involving dozens of
institutions from Europe and North America.
The Andromeda Galaxy
The Rosette Nebula
To find out more about the Herschel mission try
the following resources:
WORLD WIDE WEB SITES
Herschel UK outreach site:
http://herschel.cf.ac.uk
Herschel & Planck Facebook site: http:
//pl-pl.facebook.com/pages/Herschel-and-PlanckAstronomy/30562814194
ESA Education website:
www.esa.int/education
ESA Herschel overview:
www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Herschel/index.html
ESA Herschel in-depth: http://sci.esa.int/
science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=16
Cardiff University’s SPiRE instrument page: www.
astro.cf.ac.uk/research/instr/projects/?page=spire
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory’s
SPiRE instrument page: www.spire.rl.ac.uk/
ESA Astronomy Podcast science @ ESA episode 3:
Herschel: http://astronomy2009.esa.int/science-e/
www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=44073
BOOKS
Stardust
John Gribbin
Penguin, 2001
The Milky Way
Distant Galaxies in Draco
Further Information
The Science and Technology Facilities Council
operates world-class, large-scale research
facilities; supports scientists and engineers
world-wide; funds researchers in universities and
provides strategic scientifc advice to government.
The Council’s Science in Society unit offers a
wide range of support for teachers, scientists and
communicators to facilitate greater engagement
with STFC science which includes astronomy,
space science, particle physics and nuclear
physics:
Herschel is making the best ever measurements of the gas and dust
between the stars in our Galaxy. In visible light, this dust appears dark
and opaque, but Herschel’s instruments work at much longer infrared
wavelengths. To Herschel, the dust is no longer dark but glows with its
own light, producing stunning images.
Herschel
Uncovering the
early Universe
FOR SCHOOLS
• Free Publications and resource guides suitable
for teaching ages 10-18.
GOODS-North
Star Formation in Aquila
After our own Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy is
the nearest large galaxy, at just 2.5 million light years
away. Herschel can study the dust in Andromeda in
great detail, which helps astronomers understand our
own Galaxy even better.
The dust is seen in the visible light image (top left)
as dark lanes, but Herschel can highlight the bright
ring of dust, which is around 75,000 light years in
diameter. This may be a result of the Andromeda
Galaxy’s violent past.
We see the disc of our own Milky Way edge-on, and
look through the spiral arms. Herschel is mapping the
edge-on disc of our Galaxy, showing the gas and dust
in intricate detail, such as the region shown on the
right. Bright regions contain clusters of young stars,
which create waves and bubbles in the remaining gas
and dust, leading to more stars being born.
• Funding for projects and school visits.
• A Moon rock and meteorite loan scheme.
• Visits to STFC’s UK laboratories in Cheshire,
Oxfordshire and Edinburgh plus CERN in Geneva.
• Researchers in Residence. Teachers are placed
in partnership with young scientists who have
been trained to support the teacher, act as role
models and introduce their research.
Go to www.stfc.ac.uk/teachers
In these images, blue material is warmer, being
heated by stars within, while red material is cooler
and more diffuse. The Rosette Nebula shows gas and
dust forming new stars in dense clumps, while being
swept back by the intense radiation from young, hot
stars off to the right of the image. The dust forms
pillars which are heated by the intense light.
For further information telephone 01793 442175
Galaxy
Stuart Clark
Quercus Publishing, 2009
STFC publishes information on a variety of topics
related to physics and astronomy, to help increase
public awareness of the UK’s achievements in
science and technology. Find out more by visiting
the STFC website: www.stfc.ac.uk
Cassiopeia A
CW Leonis
Cassiopeia A is all that remains of a massive star
which exploded hundreds of years ago, in an event
called a supernova. The explosion was not observed,
most likely due to the thick clouds of dust which lie
in between it and the Earth. Herschel sees the dust
in our Galaxy, shown in red, as well as the material
thrown out by the supernova itself.
The ring of gas and dust contains enough material
to form 25,000 Earths, but this is still only a fraction
of the mass of the Sun. Supernovae are one possible
source of all the dust we see.
The star “CW Leonis” is a massive star nearing the
end of its life. It is throwing off its outer layers. In
2009, Herschel discovered that water vapour is
being formed much closer to the star than previously
thought, at temperatures approaching 1000 degrees.
Herschel also observes much more distant galaxies,
seen when the Universe was only a fraction of its
current age. Around 10 billion years ago, galaxies
were very different from our own, forming stars at a
much higher rate. Herschel is helping to understand
how they have evolved over cosmic time. In
the images above. each spot is a distant galaxy,
containing billions of stars.
Science & Technology
Facilities Council
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