Herschel opened its 'eyes' on 14 June and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer obtained images of M51, 'the whirlpool galaxy' for a first test observation. Scientists obtained images in three colours which clearly demonstrate the superiority of Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope ever flown.
Herschel, launched only a month ago, is still being commissioned and the first images from its instruments were planned to arrive only in a few weeks. But engineers and scientists were challenged to try to plan and execute daring test observations as part of a 'sneak preview' immediately after the cryocover was opened. The objective was to produce a very early image that gives a glimpse of things to come.
Three-colour far-infrared image of M51, the 'whirlpool galaxy'. Red, green and blue correspond to the 160-micron, 100-micron and 70-micron wavelength bands of the Herschel's Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer, PACS. Glowing light from clouds of dust and gas around and between the stars is visible clearly. These clouds are a reservoir of raw material for ongoing star formation in this galaxy. Blue indicates regions of warm dust that is heated by young stars, while the colder dust shows up in red.
Credit: ESA and the PACS Consortium
Comparison of M51 imaged with the Spitzer Space Telescope (left panel) and an image of the same galaxy taken with the Herschel Space Observatory (right panel), launched just a month ago. The obvious advantage of the larger size of the telescope is clearly reflected in the much higher resolution of the image: Herschel reveals structures that cannot be discerned in the Spitzer image. Both images were taken at the wavelength of 160 microns.
Credit: Left panel: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SINGS, Right panel: ESA and the PACS Consortium
Far-infrared image of M 51, the 'whirlpool galaxy' at three different wavelengths (160, 100 and 70 microns) , taken by the Herschel Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer, PACS. These images clearly demonstrate that the shorter the wavelength, the sharper the image -- this is a very important message about the quality of Herschel's optics, since PACS observes at Herschel's shortest wavelengths.
Credit: ESA and the PACS Consortium
Herschel opened its 'eyes' on 14 June and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer obtained images of M51, 'the whirlpool galaxy' for a first test observation. Scientists obtained images in three colours which clearly demonstrate the superiority of Herschel, the largest infrared space telescope ever flown.
