Project News

Our Sun Came Late to the Milky Way's Star-Birth Party

Herschel • Feature • April 9th, 2015

Our Sun missed the stellar "baby boom" that erupted in our young Milky Way galaxy 10 billion years ago. During that time the Milky Way was churning out stars 30 times faster than it does today. Our galaxy was ablaze with a firestorm of star birth as its rich reservoir of hydrogen gas compressed...

A Gold Mine of Galaxy Nuggets

Herschel • Feature • March 31st, 2015

Astronomers mine data from the Planck and Herschel missions to find a treasure chest of galaxy clusters.

Suzaku, Herschel Link a Black Hole 'Wind' to a Galactic Gush of Star-forming Gas

Herschel • News Release • March 25th, 2015

By combining observations from the Japan-led Suzaku X-ray satellite and the European Space Agency's infrared Herschel Space Observatory, scientists have connected a fierce "wind" produced near a galaxy's monster black hole to an outward torrent of cold gas a thousand light-years across.

Herschel’s view of the early Universe reveals galaxy cluster fireworks

Herschel • News Release • December 18th, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory have found, for the first time, fireworks of star birth within galaxies at the dense core of a massive early Universe galaxy cluster. This frenzy of star formation reveals the young lives of now “red and dead” elliptical galaxies and gives new...

Warm Gas Pours 'Cold Water' on Galaxy's Star-Making

Herschel • Feature • December 5th, 2014

One galaxy devoured remnants of another galaxy, quenching the formation of new stars.

Slow-Growing Galaxies Offer Window to Early Universe

Herschel • Feature • October 15th, 2014

What makes one rose bush blossom with flowers, while another remains barren? Astronomers ask a similar question of galaxies, wondering how some flourish with star formation and others barely bloom.

NASA Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy

Herschel • News Release • August 27th, 2014

Astronomers have for the first time caught a glimpse of the earliest stages of massive galaxy construction. The building site, dubbed "Sparky," is a dense galactic core blazing with the light of millions of newborn stars that are forming at a ferocious rate.

Young Sun’s Violent History Solves Meteorite Mystery

Herschel • Feature • July 1st, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling meteorite mystery in our own back yard.

New Molecules Around Old Stars

Herschel • External • June 17th, 2014

Astronomers have discovered that a molecule vital for creating water exists in the burning embers of dying Sun-like stars. When low- to middleweight stars like our Sun approach the end of their lives, they eventually become dense, white dwarf stars. In doing so, they cast off their outer layers...

Herschel Sees Budding Stars and a Giant, Strange Ring

Herschel • News Release • June 12th, 2014

The Herschel Space Observatory has uncovered a weird ring of dusty material while obtaining one of the sharpest scans to date of a huge cloud of gas and dust, called NGC 7538. The observations have revealed numerous clumps of material, a baker's dozen of which may evolve into the most powerful...

Our Sun Came Late to the Milky Way's Star-Birth Party

Herschel • April 9th, 2015

Our Sun missed the stellar "baby boom" that erupted in our young Milky Way galaxy 10 billion years ago. During that time the Milky Way was churning out stars 30 times faster...

A Gold Mine of Galaxy Nuggets

Herschel • March 31st, 2015

Astronomers mine data from the Planck and Herschel missions to find a treasure chest of galaxy clusters.

Suzaku, Herschel Link a Black Hole 'Wind' to a Galactic Gush of Star-forming Gas

Herschel • March 25th, 2015

By combining observations from the Japan-led Suzaku X-ray satellite and the European Space Agency's infrared Herschel Space Observatory, scientists have connected a fierce...

Herschel’s view of the early Universe reveals galaxy cluster fireworks

Herschel • December 18th, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory have found, for the first time, fireworks of star birth within galaxies at the dense core of a massive early Universe galaxy...

Warm Gas Pours 'Cold Water' on Galaxy's Star-Making

Herschel • December 5th, 2014

One galaxy devoured remnants of another galaxy, quenching the formation of new stars.

Slow-Growing Galaxies Offer Window to Early Universe

Herschel • October 15th, 2014

What makes one rose bush blossom with flowers, while another remains barren? Astronomers ask a similar question of galaxies, wondering how some flourish with star formation and...

NASA Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy

Herschel • August 27th, 2014

Astronomers have for the first time caught a glimpse of the earliest stages of massive galaxy construction. The building site, dubbed "Sparky," is a dense galactic core blazing...

Young Sun’s Violent History Solves Meteorite Mystery

Herschel • July 1st, 2014

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel space observatory to probe the turbulent beginnings of a Sun-like star have found evidence of mighty stellar winds that could solve a puzzling...

New Molecules Around Old Stars

Herschel • June 17th, 2014

Astronomers have discovered that a molecule vital for creating water exists in the burning embers of dying Sun-like stars. When low- to middleweight stars like our Sun approach...

Herschel Sees Budding Stars and a Giant, Strange Ring

Herschel • June 12th, 2014

The Herschel Space Observatory has uncovered a weird ring of dusty material while obtaining one of the sharpest scans to date of a huge cloud of gas and dust, called NGC 7538....