En la Cima del Mundo
Algunos lugares de la Tierra pueden parecer ambientes ajenos, como muestra esta asombrosa panorámica. No es la extraña superficie de un exoplaneta, sino más bien el Llano de Chajnantor en los Andes chilenos. Este lugar sobrenatural es el albergue de ALMA, el Gran Conjunto Milimétrico/submilimétrico de Atacama. Chajnantor fue elegido porque la atmósfera enrarecida sobre este muy alto lugar es tan seca que, a diferencia de la mayoría de otros lugares en la Tierra, es en gran parte transparente a las longitudes de onda de la luz para las que ALMA fue diseñada a detectar.
En el centro de esta fotografía puede verse la forma redondeada, más oscura de la cima del Cerro Chajnantor, de 5600 metros de altura, seguida a lo lejos, levemente hacia la izquierda, por la forma cónica del valcán Licancabur de 5930 metros. El area plana en la parte delantera, a una altura de 5000 metros, es el Llano de Chajnantor, el lugar de Operaciones del Conjunto ALMA. Ahí, las 66 antenas de ALMA pueden ordenarse en diferentes configuraciones, en que la máxima distancia entre antenas puede variar de 150 metros a 16 kilómetros. Las blancas cimas acumuladas a la derecha en la parte anterior son penitentes, formados por la sublimación de la nieve a una altura extrema y en un ambiente muy seco. Esta area de los Andes chilenos limita con Bolivia y Argentina.
ALMA dará a los astrónomos una ventana sin precedentes hacia el cosmos, permitiendo estudios pioneros de areas tales como la física del Universo frío, las primeras estrellas y galaxias, y aún fotografiar directamente la formación de planetas. ALMA, que comenzará observaciones científicas en 2011, es el proyecto astronómico más grande en existencia y una sociedad verdaderamente global entre comunidades científicas de Asia del Este, Europa y Norteamérica con Chile. ESO es el socio europeo en ALMA.
Un sorprendente viaje virtual interactivo de Chajnantor está a disposición aquí.
Crédito:ESO
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1116a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 18 de Abril de 2011 a las 10:00 |
| Tamaño: | 28657 x 3030 px |
| Field of View: | 360° x 38.1° |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Atacama Desert, Panorama |
| Tipo: | Solar System : Planet : Feature : Surface |
Formatos de imagen
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