ANTU after sunset

Night Falls at Paranal — Preparing for the Observations

First calibration observations with ANTU after sunset. The last afterglow is visible on the FORS1 instrument, mounted within the M1 Mirror Cell at the bottom of the telescope structure.

Astronomical observations begin soon after sunset at Paranal.

Normally, they start with a series of test and calibration exposures that serve to determine the exact status of the various instruments, e.g., in terms of sensitivity at different wavelengths.

Some of these exposures are performed on a white target on the inside of the telescope enclosure, others are made on the sky, as it gets progressively darker.

If they are included in a programme, observations of comparatively bright objects may be carried out while the sky is still relatively bright. However, those of the faintest objects must wait until the period of "astronomical twilight" is over, i.e., when the Sun is at least 18° below the horizon.

Bildnachweis:

ESO

Über das Bild

ID:eso0021g
Typ:Fotografisch
Veröffentlichungsdatum:16. Juni 2000
Dazugehörige Veröffentlichungen:eso0021
Größe:1976 x 3000 px

Über das Objekt

Name:Very Large Telescope, VLT Unit Telescopes
Typ:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope
Kategorie:Paranal

Bildformate

Großes JPEG
1,6 MB

Bildschirm-Hintergrundbilder

1024x768
217,2 KB
1280x1024
377,1 KB
1600x1200
578,2 KB
1920x1200
716,7 KB
2048x1536
979,5 KB