Mehr Schärfe für den Himmel über dem ELT
Auch wenn es wie eine Szene aus einem Science-Fiction-Film aussehen mag: Das heutige Bild der Woche zeigt einen der ganz realen Laser, die für das Extremely Large Telescope der ESO gebaut wurden, das derzeit in Chile entsteht. Der hier gezeigte Laser wird gerade am ESO-Hauptsitz in Deutschland getestet und wird ein wichtiger Bestandteil des ELT sein.
Eine der größten Herausforderungen für Teleskope am Boden ist die Unruhe in der Erdatmosphäre. Selbst an Standorten mit besonders klarem Nachthimmel verzerrt sie die Bilder und lässt feine Einzelheiten der beobachteten Himmelsobjekte verschwimmen. Um das auszugleichen, wurde die sogenannte adaptive Optik entwickelt. Dabei verändern verformbare Spiegel in Echtzeit ihre Form, um die Verzerrungen zu korrigieren. Damit diese Verzerrungen genau gemessen werden können, werden starke Laserstrahlen mit 22 Watt Leistung durch die Erdatmosphäre geschickt. Sie regen Natriumatome in etwa 90 Kilometern Höhe zum Leuchten an und erzeugen so künstliche „Sterne“ nahe am beobachteten Objekt. Wenn die Unschärfe korrigiert ist, lassen sich auch sehr schwache Objekte deutlich genauer untersuchen.
Diese Laser sind das Ergebnis jahrelanger Zusammenarbeit zwischen der ESO und Unternehmen aus der Industrie. Die Laserquellen wurden von TOPTICA in Deutschland und MPBC in Kanada gebaut. Die Systeme, die die Laser in den Himmel richten, stammen von TNO und Demcon in den Niederlanden. Drei dieser Laser sind bereits am Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Betrieb, die übrigen sechs werden am ELT installiert, dessen erstes Licht noch in diesem Jahrzehnt geplant ist.
Von links nach rechts: Fred Kamphues von TNO, Raquel Shida von der ESO-Abteilung für Kommunikation und Bart Speet von TNO.
ESO/TNO/Demcon/Fred Kamphues
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw2625a |
| Sprache: | de-ch |
| Typ: | Fotografisch |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 22. Juni 2026 06:00 |
| Größe: | 6048 x 4024 px |
Über das Objekt
| Name: | Laser Guide Star |
| Typ: | Unspecified : Technology |
Bildformate
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