Comet McNaught over the Atacama Desert

Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught), which reached its perihelion in January 2007, unexpectedly becoming the brightest comet in the previous 40 years, is seen from the coast of the II Region of Chile, near Antofagasta. This area of the Atacama Desert offers excellent conditions for professional astronomy. The II Region of Chile hosts the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT), the most advanced optical-infrared ground-based astronomical facility in the world, located some 120 km south from Antofagasta and the ALMA project, the largest radio observatory in the world, under construction at 5000 metres altitude, near San Pedro de Atacama. Moreover, Cerro Armazones, a 3046 metres high mountain located some 20 km away from Paranal, is the selected site for the Extremely Large Telescope, the world's biggest eye on the sky.

This photograph was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Gerhard Hüdepohl.

Links

Crédit:

G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com)/ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:gerd_huedepohl-02
Type:Photographique
Date de publication:26 février 2011 21:10
Taille:4288 x 2848 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Atacama Desert, Comet McNaught
Type:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet
Solar System : Planet : Feature : Surface
Catégorie:ALMA
Solar System

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
2,2 Mio
JPEG taille écran
160,6 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
229,7 Kio
1280x1024
360,7 Kio
1600x1200
496,3 Kio
1920x1200
576,0 Kio
2048x1536
748,9 Kio