The Herschel Space Observatory was launched in 2009 and operated until 2013, running for just less than four years and was the largest of its kind. By using the gigantic infrared telescope, scientists have uncovered more truths about our universe and in particular, the formation of stars.
The project is run by the European Space Agency (ESA) and revealed much more about our universe than they first thought possible. Herschel-ATLAS is the name of the actual project and stands for Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. It is through this that the team were able to observe the findings of the telescope. Being built with five filters, the observatory gives a much more colorful depiction of the stars and all around them and also enable them to decipher the distance and temperature of the galaxy they are observing.
During their research, the scientists discovered that the universe was actively cleaning itself of cosmic dust that is the raw material that makes up different galaxies. By using the images retrieved from the Herschel-ATLAS they were able to observe a nearby star pulling in the debris and absorbing it and thus increasing its size while cleaning up space.
The official flight mission of the Herschel Space Observatory came to end on the 29 April 2013 when it ran out of coolant. Those in charge decided that the best action to take in regards to the telescope being over 1 million km from Earth was to place it into a Heliocentric orbit where it will not reach Earth for several hundred years. Post-operation studies will continue until 2017.
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