Neulicht für MOONS
Das heutige Bild der Woche würdigt die komplexe Konstruktion des „Multi Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph“ (MOONS), eines neuen Instruments am Very Large Telescope (VLT) der ESO, das kürzlich seine ersten Beobachtungen durchgeführt hat. Hier sind zwei der Infrarotkameras von MOONS zu sehen, die in der Dunkelheit zu schweben scheinen. Diese mehrschichtigen, glänzenden Metallkonstruktionen, die mit Schrauben und Kabeln übersät sind, werden dazu dienen, den Aufbau unserer Galaxie und der Galaxien jenseits unserer eigenen zu erforschen.
Das Zentrum der Milchstraße ist von Staub umhüllt, der das sichtbare Licht der inneren Sterne daran hindert, zu uns durchzudringen. MOONS erfasst eine andere Art von Licht, das diesen Staub durchdringen kann – das sogenannte Infrarotlicht – und kann die Eigenschaften von Millionen dieser „verborgenen“ Sterne untersuchen. Damit können Astronom*innen eine genaue 3D-Karte des Zentrums unserer Galaxie erstellen. MOONS wird außerdem Millionen anderer Galaxien untersuchen und erforschen, wie sie sich in verschiedenen Zeitaltern des Universums bilden und entwickeln.
Wie ermöglicht der Aufbau von MOONS detaillierte Beobachtungen so vieler kosmischer Objekte? Mit rund 1000 Glasfaserkabeln, die jeweils an einem robotergesteuerten Positionierer montiert sind, der sie präzise auf die genaue Position eines astronomischen Objekts ausrichtet, dessen Licht dann vom VLT in zwei Spektrografen geleitet wird. Die Spektrografen funktionieren wie ein Prisma, das einen Regenbogen erzeugt: Sie zerlegen das empfangene Licht in einzelne „Farben“ (oder Wellenlängen), die dann von Kameras erfasst werden wie den auf diesem Bild gezeigten. Die im Licht kodierten „Fingerabdrücke“ chemischer Elemente können dann detailliert analysiert werden und geben Aufschluss über Eigenschaften kosmischer Objekte wie Zusammensetzung, Masse und Geschwindigkeit. Um Störungen durch Infrarotlichtquellen in der Umgebung des Instruments zu minimieren, wird MOONS dank eines Kryostaten auf einer sehr niedrigen Temperatur (zwischen –143 und –233° C) gehalten.
MOONS wurde von einem internationalen Konsortium unter der Leitung des UK Astronomy Technology Centre des Science and Technology Facilities Council entwickelt. Der Fotograf und ESO-Astronom Luca Sbordone sagt über sein Bild dieses einzigartigen und leistungsstarken neuen Instruments: „Ich finde diese Objekte wunderschön – es ist eine Schönheit, die von der Klugheit, Präzision, Hingabe und dem gesammelten Wissen herrührt, die zu ihrer Herstellung erforderlich sind“.
Links
- ESO-Kurzmeldung und Pressemitteilung des UK ATC zum First Light von MOONS
- Weitere Details zu MOONS im ESO-Blog
L. Sbordone/ESO
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw2636a |
| Sprache: | de-at |
| Typ: | Fotografisch |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 7. September 2026 06:00 |
| Größe: | 7728 x 5152 px |
Über das Objekt
| Name: | MOONS |
| Typ: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Instrument |
Bildformate
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