Un rayo láser hacia el centro de la Vía Láctea
A mediados de agosto de 2010, el Fotógrafo embajador de ESO, Yuri Beletsky, obtuvo esta magnífica foto en el Observatorio Paranal de ESO. Un grupo de astrónomos estaba observando el centro de la Vía Láctea usando la estrella guía láser instalada en Yepun, uno de los cuatro telescopios de 8,2 metros de diámetro del Very Large Telescope (VLT).
En la foto, el rayo láser de Yepun cruza el majestuoso cielo austral y crea una estrella artificial a una altura de 90 kilómetros en la mesósfera de la Tierra. La Estrella Guía Láser (LGS por su sigla en inglés) es parte del sistema de óptica adaptativa del VLT y es usada como referencia para corregir las distorsiones causadas por la atmósfera en las imágenes. El color del láser está precisamente calibrado para energizar los átomos de sodio que se encuentran en una de las capas superiores de la atmósfera – se puede ver que el color del láser recuerda al típico color de las lámparas de sodio del alumbrado público-. Se cree que esta capa de átomos de sodio fue dejada por meteoritos que entraron en la atmósfera de la Tierra. Al ser excitados por la luz del láser, los átomos comienzan a brillar, formando un pequeño punto brillante que puede ser usado como una estrella artificial que sirve como referencia para la óptica adaptativa. Usando esta técnica, los astrónomos pueden realizar observaciones más nítidas. Por ejemplo, al mirar el centro de nuestra Vía Láctea, los investigadores pueden monitorear mejor el núcleo galáctico donde un agujero negro súpermasivo, rodeado por estrellas que orbitan muy cerca unas de otras, está tragando gas y polvo.
La foto, que fue elegida Foto Astronómica del Día el 6 de septiembre de 2010, fue tomada con un lente gran angular y cubre unos 180 grados del cielo.
Crédito:ESO/Y. Beletsky
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1036a |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 4 de Julio de 2011 a las 17:30 |
| Noticias relacionadas: | eso2017 |
| Anuncios relacionados: | ann11044 |
| Tamaño: | 4000 x 3631 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Very Large Telescope, VLT Unit Telescopes |
| Tipo: | Milky Way Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Facility |
Formatos de imagen
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