This article is about the space telescope. For the ground-based telescope, see William Herschel Telescope.
Herschel Space Observatory
Model of the Herschel Observatory
Names
Far Infrared and Submillimetre Telescope
Mission type
Space telescope
Operator
ESA / NASA
COSPAR ID
2009-026K
SATCAT no.
34937
Website
www.esa.int/herschel
Mission duration
Planned: 3 years Final: 4 years, 1 month, 2 days[1]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass
3,400 kg (7,500 lb)[2]
Payload mass
Telescope: 315 kg (694 lb)[2]
Dimensions
7.5 m × 4.0 m (25 ft × 13 ft)[2]
Power
1 kW
Start of mission
Launch date
14 May 2009, 13:12:02 UTC (2009-05-14UTC13:12:02)
Rocket
Ariane 5 ECA
Launch site
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Contractor
Arianespace
End of mission
Disposal
Decommissioned
Deactivated
17 June 2013, 12:25 UTC (2013-06-17UTC12:26)[3]
Orbital parameters
Reference system
L2 point (1,500,000 km / 930,000 mi)
Regime
Lissajous
Main telescope
Type
Ritchey–Chrétien
Diameter
3.5 m (11 ft) f/0.5 (primary mirror)[4]
Focal length
28.5 m (94 ft) f/8.7[4]
Collecting area
9.6 m2 (103 sq ft)
Wavelengths
55 to 672 µm (far infrared)
Instruments
HIFI
Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared
PACS
Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer
SPIRE
Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver
ESA astrophysics insignia for Herschel
Horizon 2000
← Rosetta
Planck →
The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021.[5] Herschel carries a 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror[5][6][7][8] and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO/Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta.
The observatory was carried into orbit by an Ariane 5 in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth–Sun system, 1,500,000 kilometres (930,000 mi) from Earth, about two months later. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.[9]
The observatory was capable of seeing the coldest and dustiest objects in space; for example, cool cocoons where stars form and dusty galaxies just starting to bulk up with new stars.[10] The observatory sifted through star-forming clouds—the "slow cookers" of star ingredients—to trace the path by which potentially life-forming molecules, such as water, form.
The telescope's lifespan was governed by the amount of coolant available for its instruments; when that coolant ran out, the instruments would stop functioning correctly. At the time of its launch, operations were estimated to last 3.5 years (to around the end of 2012).[11] It continued to operate until 29 April 2013 15:20 UTC, when Herschel ran out of coolant.[12]
NASA was a partner in the Herschel mission, with US participants contributing to the mission; providing mission-enabling instrument technology and sponsoring the NASA Herschel Science Center (NHSC) at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and the Herschel Data Search at the Infrared Science Archive.[13]
^Amos, Jonathan (29 April 2013). "Herschel space telescope finishes mission". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
^ abc"Herschel: Vital stats". European Space Agency. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
^Amos, Jonathan (17 June 2013). "Herschel telescope switched off". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
^ ab"The Herschel Space Observatory". Swiss Physical Society. March 2009. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
^ ab"ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes". Aerospaceguide. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
^"ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes". Euronews. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
^Amos, Jonathan (14 June 2009). "ESA launches Herschel and Planck space telescopes". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
^"Herschel closes its eyes on the Universe". ESA. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
^"Revealing the invisible: Caroline and William Herschel". ESA. 18 June 2000. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
^ESA Science & Technology: Herschel. Retrieved on 28 July 2010
^"Infrared Space Astronomy: Herschel". Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
^Amos, Jonathan (29 April 2013). "Herschel space telescope finishes mission". BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
^"NSSDC Spacecraft Details: Herschel Space Observatory". NASA. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
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