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Herschel Space Telescope Opens For the First Time
davecl writes "The Herschel space telescope, the largest ever launched into space, has opened its instrument cover, allowing its three instruments to observe for the first time. BBC news has the main coverage, while there is more coverage on the SPIRE instrument team website, and on the mission blog. I'm part of the SPIRE instrument team and the excitement as we move towards our first observations is building fast. The PACS and SPIRE instruments will see first light in the next few days."
In an effort to contribute something to the thread that isn't irrelevant, stupid, or hateful assholery, this is very cool. I'm looking forward to its first images. Maybe it'll be sensitive enough to image extrasolar planets.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
Hubble is in low earth orbit. Herschel is en route to L2. They will be no flyby.
The atmosphere is a lovely IR absorber. So, if you're gonna launch a telescope into space, why not look at a band of frequencies you can't see thru the atmosphere? Whatever you see, it'll be something you can't see from the ground (more or less).
So that works pretty well, if the criteria is to see whats never been seen before, discover new things, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_astronomy
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Now who's being ethnocentric?
I assumed GP meant "we" as in "humanity". Of course, now some asshat will accuse me of speciesism.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.