Table of Contents

News from Herschel

• NEW – Watery Star Births
• December 1, 2009 – The Herschel Space Observatory Hones in on our Galactic Neighbours and Spies on a Comet
• July 10, 2009 – Updates for the Herschel and Planck missions

Watery Star Births

Herschel Space Telescope finds stellar nursery awash with water

Water lines toward the intermediate-mass protstar NGC 7129. The spectrum is superimposed on a Spitzer image of the region. (Source: ESA and the HIFI consortium; D. Johnstone for the WISH Key Programme. Background image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S.T. Megeath (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)).

Like in any good detective story, astronomers are piecing together clues to a cosmic mystery surrounding the most precious of molecules in the Universe—water. A team of Canadian science sleuths part of the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Telescope mission have found the most detailed evidence of abundant water in a distant star factory. This exciting new discovery may not only reveal secrets behind the birth of stars but may even provide tantalizing hints to the possible origin of water in the solar system.

With support from the Canadian Space Agency, Canadian astronomers are using high-flying Herschel's exquisitely sensitive water-sniffing instrument called HiFi (Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared), part of which was built in Ontario, to hunt down the spectral fingerprints of water lurking around newborn stars. "We didn't actually expect to see much in our very first observations, but Herschel has given us truly spectacular results," says Michael Fich, astronomy professor at University of Waterloo and Canadian Principal Investigator for Herschel's HiFi science instrument. "We knew that water plays a vital role in star-forming regions but have never been able to get a detailed picture of what is going on until now."

They hit the jackpot with their first target, a protostar in a molecular cloud called NGC 7129 located 3300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus. The star turns out to be much hotter than ever thought, with temperatures of 1500 degrees Kelvin. Capturing it only a few thousand years after its birth, astronomers think this bizarre star breaks the record as the youngest and most active intermediate newborn ever observed.

Astronomers understand a lot about how low mass, sun-like stars are produced but they don't know much about these larger siblings, like how they are formed and if they regularly create planets around them. Water has been theorized to play a key role in star forming clouds.

The HiFi science team is also attempting to understand what role water may play in the birth of exoplanets. Can all this water in the surrounding cloud be transported into the planet-forming nursery around the newborn stars? "We know that cosmic water vapor freezes onto dust inside cold, dark molecular clouds. These ice coated dust grains may come together and form planets and comets, and maybe even ultimately the atmospheres of planets." says Doug Johnstone, professor of astronomy at University of Victoria and HiFi science team member. "Understanding water in molecular clouds is fundamentally important in our understanding of the universe," says Johnstone. "It shouldn't be all that surprising H20 is so near and dear to us since it is the stuff out of which planets and even people are made."

December 1, 2009

The Herschel Space Observatory Hones in on our Galactic Neighbours and Spies on a Comet

Unprecedented images bring familiar objects into focus

A series of images from the Herschel Space Observatory is providing scientists with new perspectives of some well known astronomical targets. Herschel has beamed back exceptionally good astronomical fingerprints (spectra) of a broad range of objects (from comets, to massive stars, star-forming regions and a variety of galaxies), including new evidence for water and the building blocks of life in the Universe.

Messier 82-A Starburst Galaxy in the Big Dipper (Ursa major)

This mosaic shows some of the early data and images acquired by Herschel's SPIRE instrument during its testing phase.

SPIRE captured these images of Messier objects 81 (M81) and 82 (M82), a pair of galaxies located in Ursa major (which contains the familiar asterism, the Big Dipper). As the spectrum suggests, SPIRE detected a strong presence of carbon monoxide in M82 (left), as well as atomic carbon and ionized nitrogen.

M82 is the nearest starburst galaxy to Earth (a mere 12 million light years away). The intense star formation in M82 has been triggered by the gravitational tidal forces caused by its close passage by its more massive neighbour, M81.

SPIRE is one of the two Herschel instruments in which Canadian scientists play a role. Astronomer Christine Wilson from McMaster University is the principal researcher on the Herschel project "Physical Processes in the Interstellar Medium of Very Nearby Galaxies" that produced this image. Led by Wilson, this group of scientists is examining the closest examples of every type of galaxy they can find to study the properties of the gases in galaxies and determine how gases relate to star formation.

Galactic Star Formation in the Orion Nebula (Orion Bar-DR21)

This SPIRE spectrum reveals exciting new clues about a star-forming region of the famous Orion nebula known as the Orion Bar. SPIRE made the first-ever detection at long wavelengths of an ion known as methylidynium, a key constituent for larger carbon-bearing molecules, such as organic molecules-the building blocks of life. By measuring the heights of the spikes on the left side of the chart, astronomers are able to estimate the temperature and density of interstellar gas in this region.

Water on Comet Garradd

The peak in the above spectrum, produced by Herschel's HIFI (Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared) instrument, confirms the presence of water on Comet Garradd. Some of the studies done with HIFI will compare the characteristics of water and volatile organic molecules released by different comets in the Solar System as they approach the Sun.

Comets are essentially amalgamations of small dust grains held together by ice—like dirty snowballs. They were formed some 4.5 billion years ago in cold, outer regions of the Solar system. For most of their history, comets dwell far from the Sun, and therefore represent a pristine record of the early conditions when the Solar System and the planets were formed. Scientists believe that comets may have contributed greatly to water on the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Small perturbations in their orbit can propel comets inwards. When they approach the Sun, the increased heat sublimates the ice releasing water and other molecules into the vapour phase; this means that the composition and characteristics of the comet can be easily measured.

The Herschel Space Observatory was launched on May 14, 2009 on board the same Ariane 5 rocket that was carrying the Planck Space Telescope. With funding from the Canadian Space Agency, several Canadian institutions and entrepreneurs contributed to Herschel by taking part in the development of two of the three science instruments: the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE).

Professor Michel Fich of the University of Waterloo is the Principal Investigator for HIFI in Canada. COM DEV, Cambridge, Ontario, is the prime contractor for Canada's contribution to HIFI.

Professor David Naylor of the University of Lethbridge is the Principal Investigator for Canada's contribution to SPIRE through ISIS, the Institute for Space Imaging Science (which also includes the University of Calgary and Athabaska University). Blue Sky Spectroscopy, Lethbridge, Alberta, hosts the centre of expertise for the SPIRE imaging spectrometer and is responsible for processing the spectral data shown in the figures.

The Canadian Herschel team includes scientists from the universities of British Columbia, Calgary, Western Ontario, Toronto, Victoria, McMaster University and the National Research Council Canada.

July 10, 2009

Updates for the Herschel and Planck missions

The European Space Agency announced that the Herschel Space Observatory has begun producing data and is performing far beyond expectations. Herschel was launched simultaneously with the Planck Space Telescope on May 14, 2009.

Herschel and Planck cruising to L2. (Artistic impression: ESA - AOES Medialab)

To date, Herschel's three instruments (the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI), the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and the Photometric Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS)) were tested on a few astronomical targets before their initial calibration had even begun. Their first results have already surpassed data gathered by previous missions. Herschel's goal is to probe the Universe at far infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths to determine how stars, planets and galaxies form and evolve.

Planck's instruments (the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) and the High Frequency Instrument (HFI)) are being calibrated and optimized. They are nearly ready to observe the sky full-time. Planck's planned mission is to complete two surveys of the entire sky to map the microwave background radiation - the remnants from the Big Bang.

Herschel and Planck's ultra-precise science instruments were developed by an international consortium, including several Canadian teams.

Professor Michel Fich of the University of Waterloo is the Principal Investigator for Herschel-HIFI in Canada. COM DEV, Cambridge, Ontario, is the prime contractor for Canada's contribution to HIFI.

Professor David Naylor of the University of Lethbridge is the Principal Investigator for Canada's contribution to Herschel-SPIRE. Blue Sky Spectroscopy, Lethbridge, Alberta, hosts a centre of expertise for the SPIRE Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer. The Canadian Herschel team includes scientists from the universities of British Columbia, Calgary, Western Ontario, Toronto, Victoria, McMaster University and the National Research Council Canada.

Professor Douglas Scott of the University of British Columbia is leading the Canadian Planck-LFI team. The Planck-HFI team is led by Professor J. Richard Bond of the University of Toronto.

The Canadian teams have spent more than a decade working with their international colleagues to plan for the Herschel and Planck missions, and will be directly involved in using the data to answer some of the most fundamental astronomical questions about the Universe.

For more information about Canada's role in the Herschel and Planck missions visit the: www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/herschel/default.asp and www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/planck.asp

For details about Herschel's first discoveries, visit: www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMAYT6CTWF_index_0.html