ESA's Herschel and Planck space telescopes

[MarkS]

These types of scopes really are an expensive fridge,although the images have been stunning....

More like picnic coolboxes - once the icepacks have thawed they are useless ...

FOR SALE:  3.5 meter mirror plus assorted IR cameras - buyer must collect!

[Rick]

Observation gives way to examination as Herschel coolant runs out

The liquid helium coolant that enabled instruments on board the Herschel space observatory to collect extraordinary images and spectra has finally run out. Launched in 2009, the ESA mission collected unprecedented data of the cool as well as of the distant Universe. Herschel's observations have exceeded expectations, enabling scientists to learn more about how stars form, about the rates of star formation in galaxies across the cosmos, and about the origin and presence of water in different celestial bodies. While observations have come to an end and the spacecraft is to be propelled to a stable parking orbit around the Sun, where it will remain indefinitely, the science mission will continue for several years with many discoveries still to be made in the treasure trove of images and spectra collected by the observatory.

More: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=51550

[Rick]

Last Command Sent to Planck Space Telescope

Mission controllers at ESA's operations center in Darmstadt, Germany sent the final command to the Planck satellite today, marking the end of operations for what some like to call a "time machine."

Launched in 2009, Planck was designed to tease out the faintest relic radiation from the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background. This radiation preserves a picture of the universe as it was about 380,000 years after its birth, and provides details of the initial conditions that led to the universe we live in today.

More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-303

[Rick]

Young Sun's Violent History Solves Meteorite Mystery

Astronomers using ESA's Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling meteorite mystery in our own back yard.

In spite of their tranquil appearance in the night sky, stars are scorching furnaces that spring to life through tumultuous processes – and our 4.5 billion-year-old Sun is no exception. To glimpse its harsh early days, astronomers gather clues not only in the Solar System but also by studying young stars elsewhere in our Galaxy.

Using Herschel to survey the chemical composition of regions where stars are being born today, a team of astronomers has noticed that one object in particular is different.

The unusual source is a prolific stellar nursery called OMC2 FIR4, a clump of new stars embedded in a gaseous and dusty cloud near to the famous Orion Nebula.

More: http://sci.esa.int/herschel/54252-young-suns-violent-history-solves-meteorite-mystery/