Instruments

Introduction

The Herschel science payload comprises three instruments that perform a combination of spectrometry, imaging spectrometry and imaging photometry covering a wavelength range from 55 to 672 µm.

Herschel's primary objectives are to:

• Study the formation of galaxies in the early universe and their subsequent evolution
• Investigate the creation of stars and their interaction with the interstellar medium
• Observe the chemical composition of the atmospheres and surfaces of comets, planets and satellites
• Examine the molecular chemistry of the universe

With its ability to observe across the far infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths, Herschel will furnish observation data that has previously been unobtainable.

The instruments are provided by collaborative efforts between scientific institutes in ESA member states, Canada and the USA. Principal investigators in different countries lead the nationally funded collaborations.

Herschel Instruments
Instrument Name	Instrument Description	Principal Investigator
Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI)	Very high resolution heterodyne spectrometer	Thijs de Graauw, SRON (Groningen, The Netherlands)
Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS)	Imaging photometer / integral field line spectrometer	Albrecht Poglitsch, MPE (Garching, Germany)
Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE)	Imaging photometer / imaging Fourier transform spectrometer	Matthew Griffin, University of Wales (Cardiff, United Kingdom)

The instrument payload has been conceived and optimised with the prime science goals in mind, but in addition it offers a wide range of capabilities for the general observer.

Instruments in Brief

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Last Update: 26 Feb 2009