The European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory (formerly called Far Infrared and Sub-millimetre Telescope or FIRST) has the largest single mirror ever built for a space telescope. At 3.5-metres in diameter the mirror will collect long-wavelength radiation from some of the coldest and most distant objects in the Universe. In addition, Herschel is the only space observatory to cover a spectral range from the far infrared to sub-millimetre.
Organization
Launch Date
November 2009
Class
Flight Project
Website
Key Staff
Project Scientist
The European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory (formerly called Far Infrared and Sub-millimetre Telescope or FIRST) has the largest single mirror ever built for a space telescope. At 3.5-metres in diameter the mirror will collect long-wavelength radiation from some of the coldest and most distant objects in the Universe. In addition, Herschel is the only space observatory to cover a spectral range from the far infrared to sub-millimetre.
Related Publications
2022.
"Uranus’s and Neptune’s Stratospheric Water Abundance and Vertical Profile from Herschel-HIFI*.",
The Planetary Science Journal,
3
(4):
96
[10.3847/psj/ac650f]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2018.
"Retrieval of H 2 O abundance in Titan’s stratosphere: A (re)analysis of CIRS/Cassini and PACS/Herschel observations.",
Icarus,
311
288-305
[10.1016/j.icarus.2018.04.003]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2013.
"Constraints on Titan's middle atmosphere ammonia abundance from Herschel/SPIRE sub-millimetre spectra.",
Planetary and Space Science,
75
136-147
[10.1016/j.pss.2012.11.008]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2016.
"A Search for O2 in CO-depleted Molecular Cloud Cores with Herschel.",
The Astrophysical Journal,
830
(2):
102
[10.3847/0004-637x/830/2/102]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2016.
"On the nature of the enigmatic object IRAS 19312+1950: “A rare phase of massive star formation?.",
The Astrophysical Journal,
828
(1):
51
[10.3847/0004-637x/828/1/51]
[Journal Article/Letter]
