Una flor de cuatro pétalos
En esta Imagen de la semana hay varias galaxias, pero la más fascinante es probablemente la que está rodeada por cuatro puntos de color azul claro, que nos recuerda a una flor de pétalos azules. Pero, ¿son reales estos puntos? Sí y no... En esta imagen, tomada con el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO, vemos la llamada Cruz de Einstein.
Los cuatro "pétalos" son imágenes de una galaxia distante escondida detrás de la galaxia naranja del centro. Lo que nos permite detectar la luz de este objeto oculto es un fenómeno fascinante: la galaxia del centro actúa como una lente gravitatoria, doblando a su alrededor la luz emitida por la galaxia distante. Como resultado, vemos varias imágenes de la galaxia distante, distorsionadas y magnificadas. En la configuración de estas dos galaxias en concreto, la oculta aparece como cuatro imágenes alrededor de la galaxia central que hace de "lente", formando un patrón en forma de cruz (o flor) denominado Cruz de Einstein. Por lo tanto, las lentes gravitacionales nos permiten descubrir galaxias ocultas que de otro modo serían invisibles para nosotros.
Las observaciones de este sistema se realizaron con el instrumento Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer MUSE), instalado en el VLT de ESO, en Chile. MUSE divide la luz proveniente de cada punto dentro del área observada en un arco iris o espectro, lo cual proporciona a la comunidad astronómica una gran cantidad de información sobre los objetos presentes en el campo de visión. Los resultados de estas observaciones, presentados en un nuevo artículo dirigido por Aleksandar Cikota, del Observatorio Gemini (Chile), muestran que la galaxia distante está formando estrellas a un ritmo rápido [1]. Dado que la luz salió de la galaxia cuando el universo tenía aproximadamente un 20% de su edad actual, estudiarla proporciona pistas sobre cómo se formaron las galaxias en el universo temprano.
Nota
[1] La expansión del Universo hace que las galaxias distantes parezcan más rojas que si estuvieran más cerca de nosotros. Dicho esto, en esta imagen las cuatro imágenes de la galaxia distante se ven azules debido a la presencia de estrellas jóvenes. La galaxia que hace de lente, situada en el centro, está más cerca de nosotros, pero se ve roja porque en su mayor parte está compuesta por estrellas viejas.
Enlace
Crédito:ESO/A. Cikota et al.
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw2337a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Collage |
| Fecha de publicación: | 11 de Septiembre de 2023 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 2001 x 1013 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Tipo: | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally Lensed |
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