The Sun sets behind Cerro Paranal in the Chilean Atacama desert.
While astronomers get ready to observe with ESO’s Very Large Telescope
Nature prepares for her own grand display.
As night falls over the desert,
the southern sky reveals its nocturnal beauty,
leaving the spectator in silent amazement.
Some people, however, don’t just stare at the spectacle.
With great skill, they record these unique moments for everyone to see.
They are the photographers of the night.
This is the ESOcast! Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes
of ESO, the European Southern Observatory.
Exploring the ultimate frontier with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske.
Anyone who has been up at night in a remote, high place
such as at one of ESO´s observatories in Chile
may have been lucky enough to experience the splendid view of the myriad of stars
shining brightly from the heavens.
It is a both a dream and a challenge for a photographer
to capture an image of this incredible view.
Today we will focus on three ESO staff members
who, during their free time, produce outstanding astrophotography.
By publishing their results on the Internet
they share their enthusiasm for the astonishing wonders
of the southern skies with a wider audience.
Yuri Beletsky is an ESO Fellow and astronomer at the Paranal Observatory.
When not observing with the world’s most advanced telescope, the VLT,
he actively lives out his passion for taking pictures of the southern sky.
“I like the night sky, I like stars and the night sky is so beautiful,
you can see millions of stars and astrophotography is the best way
to show the people what actually stars are,
so taking this picture I share my passion with people
and I am showing the sky then.”
Over time, Yuri has produced many spectacular images of Paranal
against the wonderful backdrop of the night sky.
A laser beam shooting out of one of the VLT´s Unit Telescopes.
The bright constellation of the Southern Cross.
The Pipe Nebula with its picturesque dust lane crossing the Milky Way.
Sunlight reflected by small particles of dust
lying in between the planets causes the faint zodiacal light.
“My plans, I would like to take more images,
I like to share my passion with other people,
I would like to show them the real beauty of the night sky
and to show them the real beauty of the nature of Chile and the Earth.”
Paranal is an ideal site for astrophotographers as it offers
crystal-clear, extremely dark skies with perfect weather conditions
on about 320 nights per year.
Gerhard Hüdepohl, an electronic engineer at Paranal, knows about
the photographic benefits of the VLT´s site.
Gerhard, who is also a renowned photographer of Chile’s landscape,
combines the beauty of the Atacama desert with the shining Milky Way in a unique way.
“My favourite type of photography is landscape
and in particular landscape at night, showing the Milky Way in the night sky
here of the Atacama desert.
And here at Paranal I have the possibility to have the telescopes as a nice foreground
and the stars and the night sky as a background.”
The bright plane of our Milky Way as it arches above the VLT.
An image like this can only be obtained under top-notch stargazing conditions,
such as those offered at Paranal.
Like Yuri, Gerhard has also produced a spectacular series of images
showing the VLT with its laser beam and the night sky.
“I am always trying to show Paranal from new, fresh points of view,
different angles, different times of the day, so I am always thinking
about new ideas. So that is my plan for the future.”
Astrophotography is very demanding.
The photographer has to stay out in the dark and in the chill of the night for many hours.
Sometimes it can take several nights of painstaking work in these tough conditions
to obtain just one image, and the equipment must always function flawlessly.
Stéphane Guisard is the head of the optical group at Paranal.
His astrophotography benefits from his professional expertise
as an optical engineer specialising in telescopes.
Stéphane’s images have been used in several projects for
the International Year of Astronomy, as well as in previous ESOcasts.
“I take pictures of galaxies and nebulae with a telescope,
but I also like to take wide-field images of the sky with a terrestrial foreground.
I like to share with people the beauty of the sky and the Universe.”
This photographic mosaic of the central parts of our galactic home
is just one example of Stéphane's work.
Taken with an amateur telescope coupled to a CCD camera, the image combines
about 1200 photos for a total exposure time of around 250 hours.
Stéphane has also produced a spectacular series of timelapse sequences
at the Paranal site.
Producing such sequences is quite a challenge as the images must be taken
at regular intervals, and all the parameters must match perfectly to obtain
the sensation of the moving firmament.
“I want to continue imaging galaxies and objects that I have not done yet
and also I am trying to widen my field by doing 3-D pictures, a 3-D night timelapse
movie and also big mosaic images of the sky.”
There is no doubt that Yuri, Gerhard and Stéphane will continue to produce
stunning images of the starry skies above Paranal.
The wonderful quality of the images is a testament to the splendour
of the night sky at ESO’s Paranal Observatory.
By sharing their work, these three astrophotographers
have brought their magnificent view of the southern sky to a wider audience.
This is Dr J signing off for the ESOcast.
Join me again next time for another cosmic adventure.
ESOcast is produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory. www.eso.org
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy
designing, constructing and operating the world’s most advanced ground-based telescopes.
Transcription by ESO ; translation by —
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