The comet and the laser

Photograph of the comet tail from Paranal, after the comet itself had set, with the laser guide star system above Yepun (Unit Telescope 4) in the foreground. The laser is used to produce a fake 'star' on the sky to allow the changing atmosphere to be corrected. It works by making sodium atoms high in the atmosphere glow - these atoms may have originally come from comets like McNaught. Photo by Emmanuel Jehin, ESO

Crédit:

Emmanuel Jehin/ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso0707d
Type:Photographique
Date de publication:23 février 2007
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso0707
Taille:1150 x 1529 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Comet McNaught, Very Large Telescope
Type:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope
Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet : Tail
Catégorie:Paranal
Solar System

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
512,4 Kio
JPEG taille écran
315,4 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
283,1 Kio
1280x1024
435,0 Kio
1600x1200
569,4 Kio
1920x1200
614,7 Kio
2048x1536
804,1 Kio