Herschel results one year after launch

Scientists know more than ever about the formation of stars thanks to data sent back to earth by the Herschel Space Telescope.

Herschel launched one year ago and those involved with the project say it is already providing results.

The telescope uses infrared technology to capture images of never seen before star-forming galaxies.

The initial stages of star birth were previously shrouded in darkness, obscured by the thick clouds of dust and gas that incubate young stars.

Herschel has given experts a clue as what might have happened in our own part of space almost five-billion-years-ago, when the Sun and planets of the Solar System began to form.