El aire antártico visita Paranal
Esta hermosa panorámica del Observatorio Paranal de ESO fue tomada el 5 de julio de 2012, uno de los días más secos registrados en el complejo del VLT (Very Large Telescope). Paranal es como una isla que emerge, con bancos masivos de nubes flotando debajo, sobre el distante Océano Pacífico.
La escasa humedad en Paranal durante ese periodo se registró con un radiómetro de vapor de agua conocido como LHATPRO, el cual monitoriza la atmósfera con el fin de ayudar en las observaciones que se llevan a cabo en el observatorio [1]. Meteorólogos de dos universidades chilenas identificaron las causas de estas inusuales condiciones de sequedad: aire antártico a gran altitud moviéndose hacia el norte y descendiendo sobre Paranal.
Este frente frío permaneció sobre Paranal durante unas 12 horas, batiendo un récord de baja humedad en el aire sobre el observatorio [2]. Florian Kerber (ESO) y sus colegas analizaron este clima tan poco usual, publicando los resultados en un artículo en la revista Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society el 29 de enero de 2014, disponible aquí.
Bueno, es un desierto seco… ¿qué tiene esto de especial? A estas altitudes es normal experimentar sequedad a estos niveles, por ejemplo, en el observatorio ALMA, en el Llano de Chajnantor, que se encuentra a 5.000 metros sobre el nivel del mar. Pero en Paranal la altitud es algo más de la mitad: 2.635 metros. Las observaciones infrarrojas pueden obtenerse con mayor calidad cuando hay poco vapor de agua en el aire, esto podría significar que medidas rutinarias utilizando el radiómetro LHATPRO ofrecerían a los astrónomos la oportunidad de explotar futuros episodios de sequedad en Paranal con el fin de obtener observaciones infrarrojas de gran calidad del universo que nos rodea.
La fotografía es obra del Fotógrafo embajador de ESO Gabriel Brammer, quien casualmente fue testigo del atardecer que precedió a este episodio de sequedad que resultó ser tan extraordinariamente hermoso y claro. Gabriel trabaja como astrónomo en el Observatorio La Silla-Paranal de ESO. Cuando no hace de soporte a las operaciones en los observatorios, estudia la formación y evolución de galaxias distantes utilizando los telescopios y la instrumentación más avanzados del mundo, incluidos el VLT (Very Large Telescope) de ESO y el Telescopio Espacial Hubble.
Notas
[1] LHATPRO (Low Humidity and Temperature Profiling radiometer, radiómetro perfilador de baja humedad y temperatura) fabricado por Radiometer Physics GmbH en Alemania, utiliza fuertes líneas espectrales de determinados elementos para medir el contenido de agua en la atmósfera.
Crédito:ESO/G. Brammer
Acknowledgement: F. Kerber (ESO)
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1405a |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 3 de Febrero de 2014 a las 10:00 |
| Tamaño: | 16000 x 6661 px |
| Field of View: | 360° x 149.9° |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Cerro Paranal |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
Formatos de imagen
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