Pressemitteilungen 2004

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eso0417 — Pressemitteilung
Feeling the Heat
12. Mai 2004: Close to midnight on April 30, 2004, intriguing thermal infrared images of dust and gas heated by invisible stars in a distant region of our Milky Way appeared on a computer screen in the control room of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). These images mark the successful "First Light" of the VLT Imager and Spectrometer in the InfraRed (VISIR), the latest instrument to be installed on this powerful telescope facility at the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile. The event was greeted with a mixture of delight, satisfaction and some relief by the team of astronomers and engineers from the consortium of French and Dutch Institutes and ESO who have worked on the development of VISIR for around 10 years [1]. Pierre-Olivier Lagage (CEA, France), the Principal Investigator, is content : "This is a wonderful day! A result of many years of dedication by a team of engineers and technicians, who can today be proud of their work. With VISIR, astronomers will have at their disposal a great instrument on a marvellous telescope. And the gain is enormous; 20 minutes of observing with VISIR is equivalent to a whole night of observing on a 3-4m class telescope." Dutch astronomer and co-PI Jan-Willem Pel (Groningen, The Netherlands) adds: "What's more, VISIR features a unique observing mode in the mid-infrared: spectroscopy at a very high spectral resolution. This will open up new possibilities such as the study of warm molecular hydrogen most likely to be an important component of our galaxy."
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eso0414 — Pressemitteilung
Closer to the Monster
5. Mai 2004: Fulfilling an old dream of astronomers, observations with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile) have now made it possible to obtain a clear picture of the immediate surroundings of the black hole at the centre of an active galaxy. The new results concern the spiral galaxy NGC 1068, located at a distance of about 50 million light-years. They show a configuration of comparatively warm dust (about 50°C) measuring 11 light-years across and 7 light-years thick, with an inner, hotter zone (500°C), about 2 light-years wide. These imaging and spectral observations confirm the current theory that black holes at the centres of active galaxies are enshrouded in a thick doughnut-shaped structure of gas and dust called a "torus." For this trailblazing study, the first of its kind of an extragalactic object by means of long-baseline infrared interferometry, an international team of astronomers [2] used the new MIDI instrument in the VLTI Laboratory. It was designed and constructed in a collaboration between German, Dutch and French research institutes [3]. Combining the light from two 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes during two observing runs in June and November 2003, respectively, a maximum resolution of 0.013 arcsec was achieved, corresponding to about 3 light-years at the distance of NGC 1068. Infrared spectra of the central region of this galaxy were obtained that indicate that the heated dust is probably of alumino-silicate composition. The new results are published in a research paper appearing in the May 6, 2004, issue of the international research journal Nature.
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eso0412 — Pressemitteilung
A "Dragon" on the Surface of Titan
14. April 2004: New images of unsurpassed clarity have been obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) of formations on the surface of Titan, the largest moon in the Saturnian system. They were made by an international research team [1] during recent commissioning observations with the "Simultaneous Differential Imager (SDI)", a novel optical device, just installed at the NACO Adaptive Optics instrument [2]. With the high-contrast SDI camera, it is possible to obtain extremely sharp images in three colours simultaneously. Although mainly conceived for exoplanet imaging, this device is also very useful for observations of objects with thick atmospheres in the solar system like Titan. Peering at the same time through a narrow, unobscured near-infrared spectral window in the dense methane atmosphere and an adjacent non-transparent waveband, images were obtained that are virtually uncontaminated by atmospheric components. They map the reflectivity of a large number of surface features in unprecedented detail. The images show a number of surface regions with very different reflectivity. Of particular interest are several large "dark" areas of uniformly low reflectivity. One possible interpretation is that they represent huge surface reservoirs of liquid hydrocarbons. Whatever the case, these new observations will be most useful for the planning of the delivery of the Huygens probe - now approaching the Saturn system on the NASA/ESA Cassini spacecraft and scheduled for descent to Titan's surface in early 2005.
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eso0404 — Pressemitteilung
Announcing the VT-2004 Public Education Programme
16. Februar 2004: On June 8, 2004, Venus - the Earth's sister planet - will pass in front of the Sun. This event, a 'transit', is extremely rare - the last one occurred in 1882, 122 years ago. Easily observable in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, it is likely to attract the attention of millions of people on these continents and, indeed, all over the world. On this important occasion, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has joined forces with the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE), the Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE) and the Observatoire de Paris in France, as well as the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Czechia to establish the Venus Transit 2004 (VT-2004) public education programme. It is supported by the European Commission in the framework of the European Science and Technology Week and takes advantage of this extraordinary celestial event to expose the public - in a well-considered, interactive and exciting way - to a number of fundamental issues at the crucial interface between society and basic science. VT-2004 has several components, including an instructive and comprehensive website (www.vt-2004.org). It is directed towards the wide public in general and the media, school students and their teachers, as well as amateur astronomers in particular. It invites all interested persons to participate actively in the intercontinental VT-2004 Observing Campaign (that reenacts historical Venus Transit observations) and the VT-2004 Video Contest. During the VT-2004 Final Event in November, the winners of the Video Contest will be chosen by an international jury. This meeting will also serve to discuss the project and its impact.
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