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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,〔 carrying a single mirror〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/Herschel_closes_its_eyes_on_the_Universe )〕 and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). ''Herschel'' was the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme, along with Rosetta, Planck, and Gaia. NASA is 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. The observatory was carried into orbit in May 2009, reaching the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth–Sun system, 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. 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.〔(ESA Science & Technology: Herschel. ) Retrieved on 28 July 2010〕 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). It continued to operate until 29 April 2013 15:20 UTC, when ''Herschel'' ran out of coolant. == Development == In 1982 the Far Infrared and Sub-millimetre Telescope (FIRST) was proposed to ESA. The ESA long-term policy-plan "Horizon 2000", produced in 1984, called for a ''High Throughput Heterodyne Spectroscopy'' mission as one of its cornerstone missions. In 1986, FIRST was adopted as this cornerstone mission.〔(The First Mission: Baseline, Science Objectives and Operations ), Authors: Pilbratt, G. Journal: The Far Infrared and Submillimetre Universe. 1997., p.7〕 It was selected for implementation in 1993, following an industrial study in 1992–1993. The mission concept was redesigned from Earth-orbit to the Lagrangian point L2, in light of experience gained from the Infrared Space Observatory (1995–1998 ). In 2000, FIRST was renamed ''Herschel''. After being put out to tender in 2000, industrial activities began in 2001.〔(Herschel Space Observatory? An ESA facility for far-infrared and submillimetre astronomy ), G.L. Pilbratt, J.R. Riedinger, T. Passvoge, G. Crone, D. Doyle, U. Gageur, A.M. Heras, C. Jewell, L. Metcalfe, S. Ott, and M. Schmidt〕 ''Herschel'' was launched in 2009. , the ''Herschel'' mission is estimated to cost . This figure includes spacecraft and payload, launch and mission expenses, and science operations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Herschel Space Observatory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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