HIFI observations of two excited metastable H3O+ lines in order to determine definitively whether the superthermal molecules seen in absorption toward the SgrB2 envelope are specific to that environment or the result of more general chemical processes.
Publication
Widespread Rotationally Hot Hydronium Ion in the Galactic Interstellar Medium | Lis D. C. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Volume 785 Issue 2 article id. 135 9 pp. (2014). | 785 | 10.1088\\/0004-637X\\/785\\/2\\/135 | 2014ApJ...785..135L | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ApJ...785..135L
Instrument
HIFI_HifiPoint_dbs
Temporal Coverage
2012-10-04T01:14:04Z/2012-10-17T01:25:16Z
Version
SPG v14.1.0
Mission Description
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
European Space Agency, pilbratt et al., 2012, 'Superthermal H3Oelev+ comma a key probe of molecule formation', SPG v14.1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-trcwrza