Nota de prensa
HERMOSAS IMÁGENES DE LA VÍA LÁCTEA Y LÁSER DE PARANAL
2 de Agosto de 2007
La noche del 21 de Julio, el astrónomo de ESO Youri Beletsky obtuvo estas fotografías del cielo nocturno sobre el VLT de ESO en Cerro Paranal (Chile). Las imágenes muestran la Vía Láctea en todo su esplendor y el láser que utiliza uno de los telescopios del VLT para corregir la turbulencia atmosférica. También destaca Júpiter sobre el fondo estrellado.
“Esta no es una imagen artificial”, aclara Yuri Beletsky, astrónomo de ESO autor de las fotografías. “la cámara está fija en las estrellas, lo que fácilmente se puede percibir si se miran la cúpulas que aparecen en la imagen (aparecen un poco difusas). El color del láser en la primera imagen de hecho luce casi igual a como se ve a simple vista”.
Más llamativa aún resulta la franja brillante de estrellas que corresponde a la Vía Láctea. Aquí se puede apreciar el polvo y las estrellas que conforman nuestra propia galaxia espiral, compuesta por unos 100 mil millones de estrellas.
En el centro de la primera imagen, se pueden apreciar dos objetos brillantes. El más luminoso es el planeta Júpiter, y el otro corresponde a la estrella Antares. Otra estrella brillante es Alfa Centauro, una de las vecinas más cercanas a nuestro Sol, visible en el borde izquierdo de la imagen, cerca del centro.
Tres de las cuatro cúpulas que albergan los espejos de 8,2 metros del VLT son visibles en la primera imagen. Desde Yepun, el cuarto telescopio, sale el láser que se utiliza para crear una estrella artificial sobre Paranal que ayuda a corregir la turbulencia atmosférica.
En el momento en que esta fotografía fue tomada, los astrónomos estaban estudiando el agujero negro supermasivo del centro galáctico con el instrumento SINFONI, por lo que el láser aparece apuntando precisamente al centro de la Vía Láctea.
Con tantas estrellas visibles sobre el magnífico cielo nocturno de Paranal, ¿por qué es necesario crear otra artificial? La respuesta se relaciona con los sofisticados instrumentos que utiliza el VLT. Por ejemplo NACO y SINFONI poseen óptica adaptativa, una técnica que permite corregir la turbulencia atmosférica. Esto permite que los astrónomos puedan obtener imágenes casi tan buenas como las que se lograrían desde el espacio.
Sin embargo, la óptica adaptativa requiere una estrella relativamente brillante cercana al objeto de estudio, lo que limita las zonas del cielo que pueden ser observadas con esta técnica. Para superar esta limitante, los astrónomos poseen en Paranal un poderoso láser que les permite crear una estrella artificial en el lugar y en el momento que lo necesitan.
Las imágenes del cielo nocturno en Paranal fueron obtenidas con una cámara digital y un lente de 10 mm, sobre una pequeña montura ecuatorial, y cada una es el resultado de una exposición de 5 minutos.
Contactos
Yuri Beletsky
ESO
Chile
Correo electrónico: ybialets@eso.org
José Miguel Mas Hesse (Contacto para medios de comunicación en España)
Red de Difusión Científica de ESO
y Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)
Madrid, Spain
Teléfono: +34 918131196
Correo electrónico: eson-spain@eso.org
Acerca de la nota de prensa
| Nota de prensa No.: | eso0733-es |
| Legacy ID: | PR 33/07 |
| Nombre: | Milky Way Galactic Centre |
| Tipo: | Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky |
| Facility: | Very Large Telescope |
Imágenes
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