La luz nocturna del VLT
Esta imagen, tomada por el Fotógrafo Embajador de ESO Petr Horálek, capta el momento en que Yepun (UT4), una de las cuatro unidades de telescopio de 8,2 metros que conforma el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO, dispara un rayo láser hacia el oscuro cielo nocturno que cubre al Observatorio Paranal de ESO, en Chile.
El láser que se muestra en esta imagen actúa como una estrella artificial, conocido como una estrella de guía láser, y se utiliza para ayudar a los astrónomos a ajustar los efectos de desenfoque y distorsión generados por la atmósfera de la Tierra. Al observar una zona del cielo, los astrónomos generan una estrella guía láser cercana y miden las pequeñas variaciones de su imagen. El sistema de óptica adaptativa del VLT utiliza esta referencia para corregir los cambios y distorsiones que tienen lugar en la atmósfera y producir imágenes lo más nítidas posible en las observaciones principales.
Cerniéndose sobre Yepun, vemos la Gran Nube de Magallanes (LMC, Large Magellanic Cloud), una galaxia espiral barrada que orbita a la Vía Láctea. Un débil resplandor blanco marca la ubicación de las poblaciones estelares más viejas en LMC, mientras que los tonos iridiscentes de magenta y azul marcan los viveros de estrellas jóvenes.
Tanto LMC como su homónima de menor tamaño, la Pequeña Nube de Magallanes (SMC, Small Magellanic Cloud), se han estudiado en numerosas ocasiones con los telescopios de ESO a lo largo de los años. Sus muchas delicias cósmicas, que incluyen nebulosas (eso0332) y cúmulos de estrellas (eso1133), pueden verse en detalle gracias a su proximidad, proporcionando a los astrónomos aficionados y a los profesionales objetivos impresionantes para ser observados.
Crédito:P. Horálek/ESO
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1736a |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 4 de Septiembre de 2017 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 10874 x 10261 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Very Large Telescope |
| Tipo: | Milky Way |
Formatos de imagen
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