Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Herschel Space Observatory Finds Precursors of Life In Orion

Posted by kdawson on from the but-not-as-we-know-it dept.

ogre7299 recommends an announcement out of Caltech on a milestone for HIFI, the Herschel Space Observatory's Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared. "The Herschel Space Observatory has revealed the chemical fingerprints of potential life-enabling organic molecules in the Orion Nebula, a nearby stellar nursery in our Milky Way galaxy. ... This detailed-spectrum, obtained with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) — one of Herschel's three innovative instruments — demonstrates the gold mine of information that Herschel-HIFI will provide on how organic molecules form in space. The spectrum, one of the first to be obtained with HIFI since it returned to full health in January 2010 following technical difficulties, clearly demonstrates that the instrument is working well. ... [The HIFI instrument had previously been offline since] August 2009 when HIFI experienced an unexpected voltage spike in the electronic system, probably caused by a high-energy cosmic particle, resulting in the instrument shutting down. On 14 January 2010, HIFI was successfully switched back on using its spare electronics, with science observations commencing on 28 February."

4 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. I've seen things ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.

    - Roy Batty

  2. Anyone else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Anyone else having trouble logging in.

    (Posted as AC for obvious reasons)

  3. Sigh. by pz · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Please: Caltech, not Cal Tech. Caltech (or, just Tech) is not part of the UC system. Yes, one writes or says, "Cal Berkeley" or just "Cal" for many of the UC schools or even some of the State schools, but the California Institute of Technology is an independent, private university. As such, Caltech has chosen to use one word, not two, in its official nickname.

    --

    Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
  4. Re:no nerds here by drinkypoo · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    What we REALLY want to know (Score:2, Insightful)
    by 93 Escort Wagon (326346) on 03-07-10 13:12 (#31393694)
    Are they green, and if so - are they female?

    no nerds here (Score:3)
    by corbettw (214229) on 03-07-10 14:00 (#31394134)
    A story about possible life in Orion and not a single comment about green slave women?

    Fail

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"