From filamentary clouds to prestellar cores to the stellar IMF: Initial highlights from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey***

We summarize the first results from the Gould Belt Survey, obtained toward the Aquila rift and Polaris Flare regions during the science demonstration phase of Herschel. Our 70–500 μm images taken in parallel mode with the SPIRE and PACS cameras reveal a wealth of filamentary structure, as well as numerous dense cores embedded in the filaments. Between ~350 and 500 prestellar cores and ~45–60 Class 0 protostars can be identified in the Aquila …