Zdjęcie tygodnia

28 listopada 2016: The famously dry Atacama Desert may seem like an odd place for the Moon to take a dip — but in this intriguing image, taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek, it appears to do just that! Initially high, the crescent Moon slowly descends through the clear Chilean sky, before hitting the thickest parts of the atmosphere right above the horizon. It was here that a “rare theatre” began, said Horálek. The thin sliver of the Moon was optically distorted into a “weird, snaky shape” as its light passed through layers of different air densities, caused by different pressures, temperatures and humidities. The Moon lost its smooth curves and instead appeared as a rippling and squiggly zig-zag — “as if it were swimming”. The effect of the closely spaced layers in the atmosphere caused different parts of the Moon’s image to be refracted differently as it disappeared below the horizon. ...

21 listopada 2016: As the Sun sets on another day at La Silla, the observatory’s staff members are able to start doing what they do best — observing and exploring the night sky! La Silla was ESO’s first observatory, and remains one of the most productive observatories in the world. This photograph captures the last few rays of sunlight, producing a striking blend of orange, red and yellow close to the horizon. More prominent, however, are the bright star trails streaking and curving through the sky. Each of these trails is formed by the motion of an individual star, captured over a long exposure time. Vehicles also form light trails from their rear headlights as they move, lighting up the network of roads throughout the region. This picture was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Roger Wesson. To show both twilight and the growing star trails in the same image, Wesson combined 763 different ...

14 listopada 2016: The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) sits high up on the Chajnantor Plateau in Chile. Construction of ALMA began in 2008, and the array saw first light in 2011. Up to now the astronomers, engineers, and technicians working at the site have had to live in temporary containers located at the facility’s basecamp. They will be pleased to hear that this situation will soon be coming to an end, as construction of the new ALMA Residencia reaches its final stages. Once all of ALMA’s antennas were successfully installed on the plateau, work began on the Residencia in early 2015. Located at the Operations Support Facility (OSF) at an altitude of 3000 metres, it is around 30 kilometres away from and over 2000 metres lower than ALMA, which resides in the Andes mountains at an altitude of 5000 metres. The OSF serves as the main basecamp for ALMA, coordinating all of ...

7 listopada 2016: Astronomers spend their time gazing out into the Universe — and occasionally the Universe seems to peer right back! This image, a composite of data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a very rare cosmic sight: a pair of interacting galaxies that have taken on an ocular structure. As the name suggests, some types of grazing encounters between galaxies create shapes that resemble the human eye. While galaxy collisions of this type are not uncommon, only a few galaxies with eye-like, or ocular, structures have been observed. The paucity of these features is likely due to their very ephemeral nature — ocular structures like these tend to only last for several tens of millions of years, which is merely the blink of an eye in a galactic lifetime. These two galaxies are named IC 2163 (left) and NGC 2207 (right) — IC ...

31 października 2016: For the first time, astronomers have seen a dusty disc of material around a young star fragmenting into a multiple star system. This image comprises new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Chile, and reveals the process in action! Stars form in cosmic clouds of gas and dust, when the thin material in the clouds collapses gravitationally into denser cores that in turn draw additional material inward. The infalling material forms a rotating disc around the young star, and is slowly consumed. Eventually, the young star gathers enough mass to create the necessary temperatures and pressures at its centre to trigger nuclear fusion. Stars that have no companion — such as the Sun — are not as common as we once thought. In fact, almost half of the stars in our galaxy have at least one companion, and some are more sociable still! Previous studies have indicated that ...

24 października 2016: On 22 October 2016, ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, opened its doors to the public. In conjunction with other facilities based on the science campus in Garching, ESO invited visitors to experience first-hand its work as the world’s leading ground-based astronomy organisation. Before the doors had even opened at 11:00, people were waiting outside, eager to experience all the different activities available. In total, some 4300 people grabbed the chance to have their questions answered by experienced astronomers; see live experiments (like here where ESO staff Andreas Jost shares the joy of electronics); join guided tours through the headquarters; listen to talks about ongoing astronomical research; build their own comet; and even participate in live interviews with astronomers in the Chilean Atacama Desert. If you participated in the Open House Day 2016 and took pictures, we invite you to share them on the Your ESO Pictures Flickr group.

17 października 2016: Located some 5000 metres above sea level in Chile, the Array Operations Site (AOS) of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) boasts striking views of the Atacama Desert through its many windows. The AOS is the basecamp for the everyday routine operations of the ALMA facility and the second highest building in the world. The AOS Technical Building also houses the ALMA correlator — the highest-altitude supercomputer in the world! The air is so thin at this altitude that the correlator’s fan system requires twice the usual airflow to keep it cool. Construction of the AOS Technical Building started in October 2005, and all interior work was completed in summer 2007. This image shows a view from the exterior of the building, while this video shows an aerial shot taken during ALMA’s construction.

10 października 2016: This image shows the Operations Support Facility (OSF) for the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) with the dazzling Moon above and two 12-metre antenna dishes in the foreground. The OSF, located at 2900 metres above sea level in the Chilean Andes, is a hub of ALMA-related activity. As well as housing staff and contractors, the facility hosts all the scientific operations related to the array’s daily operation. The two antennas pictured here, for example, were brought back from their observational site to check their functionality as they sit on special calibration pads. Such tests check the computers and motors and ensure that the antenna surfaces are accurate to less than the thickness of a human hair, and can be pointed precisely enough to spot a golf ball sitting 15 kilometres away. Once these antennas have completed their check-up, they will rejoin their counterparts on the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 metres ...

3 października 2016: This beautiful image, captured with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) features a protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star Elias 2-27, some 450 light years away. ALMA has discovered and observed plenty of protoplanetary discs, but this disc is special as it shows two distinct spiral arms, almost like a tiny version of a spiral galaxy. Previously, astronomers noted compelling spiral features on the surfaces of protoplanetary discs, but it was unknown if these same spiral patterns also emerged deep within the disc where planet formation takes place. ALMA, for the first time, was able to peer deep into the mid-plane of a disk and discovered the clear signature of spiral density waves. Nearest to the star, ALMA found a flat disc of dust, which extends to what would approximately be the orbit of Neptune in our own Solar System. Beyond that point, in the region analogous to our Kuiper ...

26 września 2016: Widok przedstawia w akcji Laserową Gwiazdę Porównania (ang. Laser Guide Star - LGS) teleskopu VLT. Zdjęcie wykonał Yuri Beletsky, Ambasador Fotografii ESO, ze środka kopuły czwartego Teleskopu Głównego wchodzącego w skład Bardzo Dużego Teleskopu (VLT). LGS umiejscowiona jest na górze 1,2-metrowego zwierciadła wtórnego Teleskopu Głównego nr 4 i jest częścią optyki adaptatywnej VLT. Tworząc świecącą plamę — sztuczną gwiazdę — w ziemskiej atmosferze na wysokości 90 kilometrów, powracające z lasera światło może zostać użyte jako punkt odniesienia do usunięcia efektów od zaburzeń atmosferycznych. Pozwala to teleskopowi na uzyskiwanie obrazów astronomicznych prawie tak ostrych jakby teleskop znajdował się w kosmosie. Płaszczyzna Drogi Mlecznej, pozornie przebijana przez laser, gdy wznosi się nad otwartą kopułą, jest pomarszczona ciemnymi obłokami międzygwiazdowego pyłu, który blokuje światło widzialne. Jednak, dzięki podczerwonym instrumentom teleskopu i systemowi optyki adaptatywnej, astronomowie mogą badać i uzyskiwać szczegółowe zdjęcia skomplikowanego i niespokojnego jądra naszej galaktyki.

19 września 2016: Różne miejsca w Chile z obserwatoriami ESO — Paranal, La Silla, Chajnantor — mogą pochwalić się pozazdroszczenia godnym, niskim poziomem zanieczyszczenia świetlnego. Jednak niebo nad głowami rzadką jest w czarne jak smoła! Jak pokazuje niniejsze zdjęcie Obserwatorium Paranal, niebo regularnie rozświetlają miriady barw i astronomicznych widoków, od płaszczyzny Drogi Mlecznej jasno świecącej nad głowami, do pomarańczowych odcieni Marsa (po lewej), rozgwieżdżonych konstelacji Skorpiona i Oriona, karmazynowego kleksa Mgławicy Carina (u góry, pośrodku). Pomimo odludnego położenia, można też dostrzec sporadyczne oznaki ludzkiej aktywności, na przykład rząd lamp widoczny w centrum kadru. Słabe światła lamp oświetlają drogę z Bardzo Dużego Teleskopu (VLT) do teleskopu Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), skąd wykonano fotografię. Dzięki bardzo czułemu aparatowi, zdjęcie pokazuje także tajemnicze zjawisko zwane poświatą niebieską. Nocne niebo płonie głęboką czerwienią i niesamowitymi odcieniami zieleni, spowodowanymi słabą poświatą ziemskiej atmosfery. Ze względu na poświatę niebieską, żadne miejsce na Ziemi nie może ...

12 września 2016: This week’s picture was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Babak Tafreshi at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. The bright lane of the Milky Way can be seen streaking across the skies above the Chilean Atacama Desert, beneath which sits the New Technology Telescope (NTT), one of the ten active telescopes located at the observatory. La Silla is the oldest observation site used by ESO — it has been an ESO stronghold since the 1960s. The site houses a number of telescopes, two of which are operated solely by ESO: the aforementioned NTT, the star of this image, and the 3.6-metre ESO telescope. Joining this duo are many other collaborative telescopes, operated by various ESO Member States — the Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope, the Rapid Eye Mount (REM) telescope, the TAROT gamma-ray-burst chaser, the planet-hunting TRAPPIST, the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope, the ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope, the ESO 1-metre, and the Danish ...

5 września 2016: Kolor niebieski wiąże się z wieloma odczuciami - zimnem, smutkiem, spokojem. Jednak dla astronomów kolor ten ma zupełnie inne znaczenie, co pokazuje galaktyka spiralna Messier 98. Messier 98, znana także jako NGC 4192, jest położona około 50 milionów lat świetlnych od nas, w gwiazdozbiorze Warkocza Bereniki. Na niniejszym spektakularnym zdjęciu z należącego do ESO teleskopu NTT, pofalowany gazem i pyłem obwód galaktyki jest usiany zgrupowaniami niebieskawych punktów. Są to obszary wypełnione bardzo młodymi gwiazdami, które są tak gorące, że świecą w jasnoniebieskim odcieniu. Młode gwiazdy rozpalają się do tak wysokich temperatur, że emitują srogie promieniowanie wypalające część gęstej materii, która otacza te gwiazdy. Uważa się, że łącznie Messier 98 zawiera biliona gwiazd! NTT jest 3,58-metrowym teleskopem w Obserwatorium La Silla, który zapoczątkował użycie optyki aktywnej i był pierwszym na świecie teleskopem, który miał komputerowo kontrolowane zwierciadło główne.

29 sierpnia 2016: Wysoko na chilijskiej pustyni Atakama, pionierskie wyczyny ludzkiej inżynierii zderzają się z majestatycznym pięknem świata natury. Zdjęcie pokazuje Obserwatorium La Silla (należące do ESO), w którym kopuły mieszczące jedne z najbardziej zaawansowanych instrumentów astronomicznych na świecie, stoją pod migoczącymi na niebie gwiazdami. Wszystkie te gwiazdy należą do naszej rodzimej galaktyki, Drogi Mlecznej. Zawiera ona miliardy gwiazd, uporządkowane w dwie bardzo różne od siebie struktury. Prawie sferyczne halo, zawierające głównie stare gwiazdy, widoczne jest na zdjęciu jako tło gwiazd rozproszonych na niebie. Drugi składnik to cienki dysk zbudowany z młodszych gwiazd, gazu i pyłu. Dysk widzimy jako gęste, jasne i wizualnie oszałamiające pasmo biegnące prawie pionowo przez niebo. Obszary pyłu blokują światło od gwiazd położonych dalej, dając pasmom cętkowany wygląd. Jasna koncentracja w pasmach gwiazd, położona w kierunku górnego centrum zdjęcia, to centralny obszar Drogi Mlecznej. To tutaj astronomowie zmierzyli ruch gwiazd znacznie szybszy niż gdziekolwiek indziej w galaktyce. Jest to ...

22 sierpnia 2016: An unusual type of tourist is seen visiting ESO’s La Silla Observatory in this stunning wide-angle photograph taken in January 2015. Captured by ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek, Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) appears to streak across the sky (centre left of the image), sneaking past the two telescopes below: ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope (left) and the Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST). Like most comets, Comet Lovejoy enjoys a long, elliptical and eccentric orbit around the Sun. It entered the inner Solar System for the first recorded time in 2014, and reached perihelion — its closest approach to the Sun — on 30 January 2015. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is defined as 1 astronomical unit (au), or just under 150 million kilometres; Comet Lovejoy came within 1.29 au of our star, placing it between the orbits of Earth and Mars (1.52 au). This image displays the characteristic soft green ...

15 sierpnia 2016: Niniejsze zdjęcia pokazują brzeg wielkiego obłoku molekularnego, który znajduje się za Mgławicą Oriona, 1400 lat świetlnych od Ziemi. Fotografia po lewej prezentuje szerokie pole widzenia tego obszaru, z instrumentu HAWK-I, zainstalowanego na teleskopie VLT. Mały obszar oznaczony białym prostokątem został bardzo szczegółowo pokazany na fotografii po prawej, na podstawie obserwacji przy pomocy Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Oprócz generowania pięknych zdjęć, obłoki molekularne budzą duże zainteresowanie astronomów. Są gwiezdnymi żłobkami, a na ich obrzeżach atomy reagują i tworzą molekuły w kluczowych procesach astrochemicznych. Dzięki obserwacjom ALMA naukowcy byli w stanie rozdzielić przejście z gazu atomowego do molekularnego na granicy obłoku molekularnego w Orionie. Ponieważ obłok w Orionie jest najbliższym masywnym obszarem gwiazdotwórczym, jest idealnym celem do dowiedzenia się więcej o procesach astrochemicznych, oferuje także możliwość szczegółowego badania interakcji nowo utworzonych gwiazd z ich otoczeniem. Obie obserwacje pokazują, że fascynujące astrochemiczne przejście z gazu atomowego do molekularnego zachodzi w bardzo dynamicznym ...

8 sierpnia 2016: Illuminated only by the impressive nighttime sky, one of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) Unit Telescopes is an imposing feature in this Picture of the Week. The VLT is one of the largest and most sophisticated astronomical installations in the world. It consists of four identical Unit Telescopes, each with a main mirror of 8.2 metres in diameter. While each is a large telescope in its own right, by combining the light from all telescopes on the platform — a configuration known as an interferometer — the array in its longest baseline can resolve celestial objects 25 times finer than is possible by using one of the telescopes on its own. The VLT is situated 2635 metres above sea level in Chile’s Atacama Desert, where the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere is low enough to permit the VLT to observe infrared, as well as visible, light. The spectacular ...

1 sierpnia 2016: Science and art unite in this beautiful photograph, taken in Chile’s Atacama Desert by ESO Photo Ambassador Adhemar M. Duro Jr. To create this visual masterpiece Adhemar pointed his camera at the sky’s south pole, the point at the centre of all the bright arcs and circles. All the stars in the night sky revolve around this point. Over a period of several hours, this motion creates star trails, with each individual star tracing out a circle on the sky. These trails display the various brightnesses and colours of each star, creating a captivating scene! Towards the top left of the image, you can see a short, bright streak of light cutting across the trails — this is caused by a meteor, burning up in a flash of light as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. The desert’s harsh and arid landscape, illuminated here by the light from the stars themselves, is ...

25 lipca 2016: Each of the thousands of spots in this new image represents a distant star, and the glittering blue holes reveal glimpses of our neighbouring galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Although this image looks as if it was made on a large scale telescope it was in fact captured from ESO’s La Silla Observatory using a portable setup consisting of a SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera and a Canon prime lens. It was presented in a scientific paper alongside state-of-the art simulations, in an exciting example of how a small camera, a fast lens, a long exposure time and one of the world’s best astronomical sites can reveal huge faint features better than even a big telescope. This deep image was captured using the LRGB method, and provides an insight into the actual process of creating spectacular astrophotography. Many challenges face those attempting to photograph the night sky, including interference ...

18 lipca 2016: In this image we see a rare sight — water in the Atacama Desert! Reflected on the water’s calm surface we can see the familiar sight of Cerro Paranal, home to ESO’s Paranal Observatory. This desert is one of the driest and most inhospitable places on Earth. The average rainfall in the Cerro Paranal region is less than 10 millimetres per year, indicating that this photograph was taken just after a period of rare rainfall in the area. Soon after the image was taken, the temporary lagoon evaporated swiftly, leaving the valley floor as dry and desiccated as ever. However, what is arguably bad for the minimal flora and fauna of the region is excellent for astronomers. The lack of rainclouds and the dry air allow Paranal astronomers to observe all year round. With over 300 clear nights per year, the Atacama Desert is one of the best sites in ...