Nueva visión de láser más precisa para las instalaciones de Paranal
En esta Imagen de la Semana, tomada en la sede central de ESO, en Alemania, se puede ver el primero de los nueve nuevos láseres que se están construyendo actualmente para dos de las instalaciones del Observatorio Paranal de ESO, en el desierto de Atacama, en Chile. Pero, ¿por qué los telescopios necesitan láseres? No son para disparar a los alienígenas, eso es seguro.
Los láseres forman parte del sistema de óptica adaptativa de los telescopios. Dado que los observatorios de ESO están basados en tierra, la turbulencia en la atmósfera puede nublar nuestra visión del cosmos, y con la óptica adaptativa podemos cancelar esta visión borrosa en tiempo real. El láser crea una estrella artificial excitando átomos de sodio presentes en la atmósfera, a unos 90 kilómetros de altura. Una computadora mide cómo la atmósfera distorsiona la luz de esta estrella y, para compensarlo, dirige un espejo que cambia de forma en el telescopio. El resultado: imágenes más nítidas.
La luz en sí se genera en la fuente láser, la gran caja gris de la parte superior. A continuación, entra en el sistema de proyección láser, que consta de diferentes etapas. Primero, el área iluminada debajo de la fuente láser realiza diagnósticos y correcciones en el haz. Luego, el tubo negro en forma de chimenea expande el haz a un diámetro de 30 cm y lo dirige hacia el cielo. Este tubo contiene un espejo que se utiliza para apuntar el láser hacia donde sea necesario. Cada haz proporciona 22 vatios de potencia, suficiente para generar una brillante estrella artificial que se puede utilizar para la óptica adaptativa.
Los sistemas de proyección láser están siendo construidos en los Países Bajos por TNO y Demcon, y el primero ya ha superado con éxito una revisión por parte de los ingenieros de ESO. Tres de estos láseres forman parte de la actualización GRAVITY+ del Interferómetro del Very Large Telescope (VLTI) de ESO. Los seis láseres restantes se instalarán en el Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) de ESO, actualmente en construcción, no muy lejos del VLTI.
Enlaces
Crédito:ESO/TNO/Demcon/Fred Kamphues (www.fredkamphues.com)
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw2503a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 20 de Enero de 2025 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 6048 x 4024 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology |
Formatos de imagen
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