Herschel: the first science highlights |
Herschel: the first science highlights |
Jul 16 2010, 06:34 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
The special issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics on the first results from Herschel is now available, with hundreds of papers freely accessible!
http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=com_...s/contents.html |
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Apr 30 2013, 04:45 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 126 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 291 |
They've announced the end of mission now that coolant has run out.
Probably a stupid question, but I'm guessing that the wavelengths being observed are too far into the infrared to allow a warm mission, ala Spitzer? Seems like a lack of foresight (or penny pinching) to put up such a huge mirror, and not leave any instruments that could take advantage of it in an extended mission. EDIT: and let me answer my own question: http://isnerd.me/2013/04/04/some-more-ques...rning-herschel/ QUOTE For a telescope operating at shorter wavelengths (about ten times longer in wavelength than visible light) a “warm mission” is feasible. This could have been done with Herschel, but it would have required that the surface of the telescope be made far more precise and smooth. That would have made it very much more expensive, leaving less money available for the rest of the spacecraft and the instruments. Any space mission must be built within a certain budget, and it is usually best to design it to be as effective as possible for a certain wavelength range. Herschel actually covers a very wide range – from 55 to nearly 700 microns in wavelength. That’s more than a factor of ten, which is very impressive. To make a warm mission possible would have meant making the telescope good enough to work at ten times shorter wavelength, and adding a fourth instrument. |
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