The Herschel Space Observatory: Potential, Plans, and Current Status
Paul Goldsmith, JPL
Abstract:
The Herschel Space Observatory is a major astronomical facility currently scheduled for launch in October 2008. It comprises at 3.5m telescope cooled to ~ 70K, and three instruments which operate in the wavelength range between 60 µm and 670 µm. Herschel will be the first observatory offering essentially continuous spectral coverage throughout the submm/FIR region of the spectrum via three focal plane instruments, PACS, SPIRE, and HIFI. All of these operate as spectrometers, with f/?f between a few hundred and a few million. Herschel includes imaging photometric capability throughout this broad range. The wavelength coverage, sensitivity, and spectral and angular resolution of Herschel offer enormous new capability for many areas of astronomy, ranging from study of star-forming cloud cores to high-redshift galaxies. Spectroscopy of molecular lines and atomic fine structure transitions will give new insights into processes in regions including molecular clouds, protostellar and debris disks, photon dominated regions, and active galactic nuclei. In this talk I will review Herschel performance, highlight some of the astronomy proposed in Guaranteed Time and Open Time Key Project Observations, and summarize current status and opportunities for theoretical and observing proposals and associated funding.