  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 micron 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
field, while ~ unbound starless cores and no protostars are observed in the
Polaris field. The prestellar core mass function (CMF) derived for the Aquila
region bears a strong resemblance to the stellar initial mass function (IMF),
already confirming the close connection between the CMF and the IMF with much
better statistics than earlier studies. Comparing and contrasting our Herschel
results in Aquila and Polaris, we propose an observationally-driven scenario
for core formation according to which complex networks of long, thin filaments
form first within molecular clouds, and then the densest filaments fragment
into a number of prestellar cores via gravitational instability.
