The Herschel Space Observatory was Launched in May of 2009 by ESA (European Space Agency) with important participation from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA created the jet propulsion system for the observatory. The Observatory is a very large space telescope that measures infrared light and sub-millimeter wavelengths. Herschel was originally named FIRST (Far Infrared and Sub-millimeter Telescope), however; it was renamed to the Herschel Space Observatory after Sir William Herschel, who discovered that the light spectrum goes beyond visible light, which is what we call infrared. The main mission of Herschel was to explore the “cool universe”. That means that it was studying things in space that are between a few to one hundred degrees above absolute zero, and studying early Universe creation.
Although the Observatory is enormous; with a height of 29.53 feet, and a width of 14.76 feet, it had a launch mass of 7275.25 lbs. That wasn't what made it stand out from the rest. Their telescope had a diameter of 11.48 feet, and was the largest telescope in space at the time of Herschel's launch. The telescope's temperature had to have been kept as close to absolute zero as possible, so the Observatory’s own heat wouldn't distort the telescope’s observations. Herschel gave us a lot of important information about Universe formation, and had uncovered some interesting discoveries; including some about Black Holes.
While Herschel was studying the black-hole binary system GX 339-4 in a multi-wavelength observation campaign, they noticed changes in the source's X-ray and radio emissions signaling the start of powerful jets were being released from the black hole's surroundings. This meant that the observatory detect...
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... October 1st, 2013 astronomers used a telescope in Antarctica and Herschel and made the first detection of a subtle twist in the relic radiation from the big bang then on January 22, 2014 Herschel made the discovery of water vapor on the dwarf planet Ceres, then on March 18, 2014 Herschel completed the longest survey of cosmic dust in the local universe providing a huge legacy to the scientific community, so even after this satellite had been retired and used for testing it had still made a huge impact on the scientific community and has helped us further understand the vast universe this is an extraordinary satellite that helped us learn more about our universe from black holes all the way to studying cosmic dust and its still out there today making new discoveries for the future and helping the human race develop and advance in our understanding of the universe.
The Mariner 10 mission was the spacecraft that has been credited with finding out more about Venus and Mercury. Being a mission of many firsts, this mission left a mark on science history. Many experiments were performed and tested, setting a foundation for future missions. The events that took place in this mission helped NASA and other scientists who study space learn more about our neighboring planets. Mariner 10 was the foundation for other Mercury missions and definitely contributed greatly towards science
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries explains about his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics
The origins of the super-massive black holes which concludes how they were formed and what caused them to form is an unsolved problem which is yet a mystery of astrophysics. ( Millis 2014)
...e realization that telescopes were for far more than just looking at and charting the stars and that there is so much more out there than just our eyes can see. Through the Hale telescope, new theories formed about how the stars and galaxies formed and evolved. Hale helped establish the then new science of astrophysics and through that, we have learned not only of objects existing space unseen to the naked eye or lesser telescopes, and it helped us not only learn where objects were but also what they were and if they changed over time or remained the same. The discovery of Dwarf Planets were possible due to the hale. Through Hale, our view of the universe changed, boundaries disappeared, curiosity grew, a nation and the world were enriched, and dreams became possibilities and knowledge. Yes, The Hale telescope truly opened up the skies in ways we never imagined.
In the 1970’s, Stephen Hawking made the argument that the quantum-mechanical effects of black holes made them emit radiation
Karl Schwarzschild is credited with being the brilliant astronomer who developed the concept of black holes. In 1916, using Einstein's general theory of relativity, he began to make calculations about the gravity fields of stars. He concluded that if a huge mass, such as a star, were to be concentrated down to the size of an infintessimal point, the effects of Einstein's relativity would get really fairly extreme. Schwarzschild doubted that a star could get that small, and theorized that if a star did infact shrink upon itself like that, its gravity would remain the same and the planets revolving around it would remain in the same orbits they always had. Since then however, some of Schwarzschild's theories have been disproved, but most of his initial theories hold intact today. The Schwarzschild Radius, the maximum radius a body with a specific mass can have that won't let light escape, is named in his honor, and the equation of which is still in use today: Rs=2MG/(c^2)
The sensitive instruments aboard the SOHO spacecraft have already helped scientists here on Earth discover and explain some of the mysteries of the Sun as well as to confirm some of their theories they previously held. For example, in May of 1998 with the help of the Michelson Doppler Interferometer scientists were able to see with greater clarity the giant convective cells inside and on the surface of the Sun.
...Optica and Dioptrice, laying the groundwork for all future optical discoveries to come. After him came Newton, who questioned the commonly held belief about light and discovered a fundamental property of how light worked and what prisms did. Fraunhofer had spent his whole life working with the same optical principles as Kepler. He performed the same experiment as Newton, but he explored further, and opened up whole new worlds of discovery. Today, we still use spectroscopy and Fraunhofer lines to determine what far off planets and stars are made of, and if it would be possible for life to exist on them. Thanks to the discovery of Fraunhofer lines, Niels Bohr was able to come up with his model of the atom, expanding our knowledge of how the universe works. All of these scientific discoveries were built on top of one another, and who knows what we will discover next?
Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of a device known as The Hubble Telescope. This telescope has just recently found what many astronomers believe to be a black hole, After being focuses on a star orbiting empty space. Several pictures of various radiation fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that could be read from that area which the black hole is suspected to be in.
The extreme brightness of the O-type and B-type stars, coupled with the Earth’s atmosphere, has always made high-resolution imaging of the star-forming region difficult. But recent advances in adaptive optics and the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope have allowed for incredible detail into the center of the dust cloud. 3 The technological advances have also helped reveal several faint stars within the center of the nebula.
The Space Race improved our knowledge of space. When the United States successfully launched their first satellite, Explorer 1, on January 1, 1958, it carried a small payload that informed us on the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth (Garber). This gave us a small and raw amount of information but it gave us information to study. This also helped motivate us and our curiosity of space to get us to strive further and find more info. When the race started in 1957 following the successful launch of Sputnik, the US wanted to be a part of it and wanted to be better and wanted to prove it. With the launch of Explorer 1, they were able to prove that it was better than Sputnik because Explorer 1 actually provided us with information, whereas Sputnik just made a constant, meaningless beeping sound as it orbited our Earth. This h...
Jorden, William J. "Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space?" New York Times, October 5, 1957. [URL] Accessed May 22, 2003.
The Hubble Telescope is the world’s first space-based optical telescope. The Hubble telescope received its name from American astronomer Dr. Edwin P. Hubble. Dr. Hubble confirmed an ever expanding universe which provided the basic foundation of the Big Bang theory. The first concept of the Hubble telescope came from Lyman Spitzer in 1946, who at that time was a professor and researcher at Yale University. In 1946, Professor Spitzer believed that Earth’s atmosphere blurs and distorts light, and a space orbited telescope would be able to overcome this problem.
Tyler, Pat. Supernova. NASA’s Heasarc: Education and Public Information. 26 Jan. 2003. 22 Nov. 2004
This telescope is the result of an international collaboration of 17 countries lead by NASA, European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency. It will help us determine the geometry of the universe and enable us to establish whether the universe will expand forever.