Fotografia da Semana

1 de Março de 2010: Glowing in the cosmos at a distance of about 50 million light-years away, the galaxy NGC 936 bears a striking resemblance to the Twin Ion Engine (TIE) starfighters used by the evil Dark Lord Darth Vader and his crew in the epic motion picture Star Wars. The galaxy’s shiny bulge and a bar-like structure crossing it bring to mind the central engine and cockpit of the spacecraft; while a ring of stars surrounding the galactic core completes the parallel, corresponding to the wings of the TIE fighters that are equipped with solar panels. This galaxy harbours exclusively old stars and shows no sign of any recent star formation. Bars such as that observed in NGC 936 are common features of galaxies; however, this one is significantly more marked than average. Although a perfect symbol for the dark side of the “Force”, it is still debatable whether this galaxy is dominated, ...

22 de Fevereiro de 2010: In this dazzling image, the galaxy NGC 1427A is seen as it travels through the Fornax cluster of galaxies, to which it belongs. NGC 1427A is an example of a dwarf irregular galaxy, a type of galaxy that is significantly less bright than regular galaxies and characterised by a peculiar shape. In this particular case, the shape of the galaxy has been forged by its rapid, upwards motion through the cluster: with a speed of two million kilometres per hour relative to the cluster, NCG 1427A is being torn apart and will eventually be disrupted. The interaction with the Fornax cluster has led to the birth of many stars, seen here as a boomerang-shaped region of young, glowing stars in the galaxy. NGC 1427A exhibits a striking resemblance to one of our galactic neighbours, the Large Magellanic Cloud, which has undergone similar episodes of star formation, triggered by its interaction ...

15 de Fevereiro de 2010: Portrayed in this image is the spiral galaxy NGC 4945, a close neighbour of the Milky Way. Belonging to the Centaurus A group of galaxies, it is located at a distance of almost 13 million light-years. Showing a remarkable resemblance to our own galaxy, NGC 4945 also hides a supermassive black hole behind the thick, ring-shaped structure of dust visible in the picture. But, unlike the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way, the million-solar-mass black hole inside NGC 4945 is an Active Galactic Nucleus that is frantically consuming any surrounding matter, and so releasing tremendous amounts of energy. This image combines observations performed through three different filters (B, V, R) with the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile.

8 de Fevereiro de 2010: Um pássaro voando sobre a região remota e pouco habitada do deserto do Atacama no norte chileno - provavelmente o deserto mais seco do mundo - pode muito bem ficar surpreendido ao deparar-se com o oásis tecnológico do Very Large Telescope do ESO (VLT) no Paranal. Sendo a infraestrutura astronómica terrestre mais avançada do mundo, o local acolhe quatro Telescópios Principais de 8,2 metros, quatro Telescópios Auxiliares de 1,8 metros, o telescópio de rastreio VLT Survey Telescope (VST) e o telescópio de rastreio no visível e infravermelho de 4,1 metros, o Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), que se vê à distância no cimo do pico adjacente ao da plataforma principal.Esta vista aérea mostra também outros edifícios, incluindo o da Sala de Controle do Observatório, logo em primeiro plano na plataforma principal.

1 de Fevereiro de 2010: This aerial photograph shows the summit of Cerro Paranal in northern Chile, the home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). This flagship facility for ground-based astronomy hosts four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes along with four mobile 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes. These can work together, in groups of two or three, as one giant telescope, known as the VLT Interferometer, or VLTI. This image displays the winding access road that leads up to the observing platform as well as the Observatory Control Room in the front. The picture helps give a sense of the remoteness of the VLT site, which is located in the extremely arid Atacama Desert at an altitude of 2600 metres. The first Unit Telescope began operations at Paranal in 1999. The VLT Survey Telescope, which is scheduled to begin observations in 2010, is missing from this photo, taken in 2004.

25 de Janeiro de 2010: This impressive vertical panorama shows the ESO 3.6-metre telescope in great detail. The telescope is located on the 2400 m high La Silla mountain, home of ESO’s first observing site in the southern edges of the Atacama Desert. Equipped with HARPS, the best exoplanet finder in the world, the ESO 3.6-metre telescope was commissioned in 1977 and completely upgraded in 1999. The primary mirror is located below the dark protective cover, and the large black structure above holds the secondary mirror. The white cube on top of the secondary mirror mount contains the computer that controls the secondary mirror.

18 de Janeiro de 2010: Este desenho do conceito arquitectónico do telescópio do ESO que está a ser planeado, o Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) mostra o maior telescópio óptico do mundo planeado a apontar para os céus. Previsto para começar as operações no início da próxima década, o ELT abordará os maiores desafios científicos do nosso tempo. Um objetivo principal será o de descobrir planetas do tipo da Terra a orbitar nas zonas de habitabilidade de outras estrelas, onde a vida possa existir - um santo graal da astronomia observacional moderna. O ELT trará também contribuições fundamentais no campo da cosmologia ao medir as propriedades das primeiras estrelas e galáxias e ao investigar a natureza da matéria e energia escuras. Para além de tudo isto, os astrónomos estão também a planear para o imprevisto - novas e desconhecidas perguntas que certamente surgirão das descobertas do ELT. Com um espelho primário de uns surpreendentes 39 metros ...

11 de Janeiro de 2010: Esta bonita imagem captura a luz zodiacal, uma radiação brilhante em forma de triângulo facilmente observada em locais livres de luar forte e poluição luminosa. Esta fotografia foi tirada no Observatório de La Silla do ESO, no Chile, em setembro de 2009, em direção a oeste, alguns minutos depois do pôr do Sol. Podemos ver um mar de nuvens que se instalou no vale por baixo de La Silla, local que se situa a uma altitude de 2400 metros, com menos picos montanhosos a sair da neblina.A luz zodiacal trata-se de radiação solar refletida por partículas de poeira que se encontram entre o Sol e a Terra, e que pode ser vista ao nascer e ao pôr do Sol. Como o nome implica, este brilho celeste aparece sobre o anel de constelações conhecido por Zodíaco, que são as constelações que se encontram na eclíptica, o “caminho” aparente percorrido pelo Sol ...

4 de Janeiro de 2010: This image shows the interior of one of the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Paranal, Chile. Designated Unit Telescope 1, or UT1, and named Antu, this complex science machine has been in operation at Paranal since 1999. Just before sunset, technicians retract UT1’s windshield and work to finalise the preparations at the telescope for the night-time observation run. During the day, the enclosure is kept shut to protect the delicate and valuable scientific equipment inside, as well as to ensure minimal temperature differences between the telescope and the atmosphere at opening. To the left of the telescope’s main mirror housing, in the centre of the image, is the Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC), which was, until recently, attached to this instrument. It has now been moved to another of the Unit Telescopes, UT3 or Melipal. This image is available as a mounted image ...

28 de Dezembro de 2009: A new architectural concept drawing of ESO’s planned Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) shows the telescope at work, with its dome open and its record-setting 40-metre-class primary mirror pointed to the sky. In this illustration, clouds float over the valley overlooked by the ELT’s summit. The comparatively tiny pickup truck parked at the base of the ELT helps to give a sense of the scale of this massive telescope. The ELT dome will be similar in size to a football stadium, with a diameter at its base of over 100 m and a height of over 80 m. Scheduled to begin operations early in the next decade, the ELT will help track down Earth-like planets around other stars in the “habitable zones” where life could exist — one of the Holy Grails of modern observational astronomy. The ELT will also make fundamental contributions to cosmology by measuring the properties of the ...

21 de Dezembro de 2009: This view of ESO’s La Silla Observatory reveals the splendour of the night sky and shows several of the domed telescopes located at the site. The glowing band of the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy slants through the sky from the upper left to the lower middle, where the now closed GPO (Grand Prism Objectif) dome, which also hosted the Marly 1-metre telescope, looms in the foreground, together with the Danish 1.54-metre telescope. The ghostly, bluish objects above the GPO’s dome are two galaxies belonging to the Milky Way’s close neighbourhood and known as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. La Silla’s collection of domed telescopes also includes the ESO 3.6-metre telescope, home to HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), the world’s foremost exoplanet hunter, and the 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope, which broke new ground for telescope engineering and design, and was the first in the world to ...

14 de Dezembro de 2009: The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), with a main mirror 39 metres in diameter, will be the world’s biggest eye on the sky when it becomes operational early in the next decade. The ELT will tackle the biggest scientific challenges of our time, and aim for a number of notable firsts, including tracking down Earth-like planets around other stars in the “habitable zones” where life could exist — one of the Holy Grails of modern observational astronomy. The telescope design itself is revolutionary and is based on a novel five-mirror scheme that results in exceptional image quality. The primary mirror consists of almost 800 segments, each 1.4 metres wide, but only 50 mm thick. The optical design calls for an immense secondary mirror 4.2 metres in diameter, bigger than the primary mirrors of any of ESO's telescopes at La Silla. Adaptive mirrors are incorporated into the optics of the telescope to ...

7 de Dezembro de 2009: ESO astronomer Yuri Beletsky captured images of the transport of one of the 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (AT) that compose, together with their larger 8.2-metre companions, ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) array. The AT was moved with the utmost care from the base camp, where it had been undergoing maintenance, including the recoating of its mirrors, back to the VLT platform on top of Cerro Paranal. The ATs form part of the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), allowing this unique facility to operate every night. The ATs are mounted on tracks and can be moved between precisely defined observing positions, collecting light that is then combined in the VLTI. The ATs are very unusual telescopes, as they are self-contained in individual ultra-compact protective domes, and travel with their own electronics, ventilation, hydraulics and cooling systems. Each AT has a transporter that lifts the telescope and moves it from one position to the next. ...

30 de Novembro de 2009: After almost two months of life-changing experiences, bringing the excitement of astronomy to young children in Chile, Bolivia and Peru, the journey of the GalileoMobile Project has come to an end. As illustrated in this image, the astronomers and educators in the Galilomobile team visited numerous schools and villages during their expedition, engaging young students in educational activities about astronomy and science, and offering amazing stargazing opportunities to the local communities, in a region with one of the clearest skies on Earth. Last week the team visited ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), then continued to Taltal, the closest town to the VLT’s home, Cerro Paranal. Around sunset on 26 November, the GalileoMobile team showed the community of Taltal the highlights of the whole voyage, a voyage that covered around 5,000 kilometres through the Andes. The GalileoMobile was received with great enthusiasm by the people of Taltal. Hundreds of students took ...

23 de Novembro de 2009: This dramatic triptych shows the Moon rise from left to right through the night sky over ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) observatory at Paranal in northern Chile. Already aloft in the heavens and glowing in the centre of the image is Venus, Earth’s closest planetary neighbour. Shining to Venus’s right, the giant, though more distant planet, Jupiter appears as a small orb that seems to rotate around Venus as time passes. Such apparent celestial near misses — although the heavenly bodies are actually tens to hundreds of millions of kilometres apart — are called conjunctions. Still other sights delight in the sky over Paranal. The radiant, reddish plane of the Milky Way smoulders on the horizon, with massive bands of dust giving this bright region a mottled complexion. On the ground, an 8.2-metre VLT Unit Telescope on the right and a 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescope to the left silently witness the ...

16 de Novembro de 2009: A probe was launched last Friday (13 November 2009) from ESO’s Paranal observatory in northern Chile — home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) — aboard a weather balloon. Such probes, called radiosondes, measure various atmospheric parameters and transmit them to a receiver on the ground. Researchers from ESO, the University of Lethbridge (Canada) and Universidad de Valparaiso (Chile) are currently in the middle of a 12-day programme, during which they plan to launch 29 radiosondes. Each night, parallel observations with the VLT instruments UVES, CRIRES and VISIR are carefully orchestrated to coincide with two additional radiosonde launches, while an infrared radiometer provides continuous coverage. This powerful combination of instruments and methods will provide a better understanding of the distribution and amount of water vapour in the atmosphere above Paranal, which is highly relevant for astronomical observations. The knowledge gained from these data can be used to optimise science operations ...

9 de Novembro de 2009: A Via Láctea arqueia ao longo desta panorâmica excepcional de 360 graus do céu nocturno, por cima da plataforma do Paranal, local de acolhimento do Very Large Telescope do ESO. A imagem foi criada a partir de 37 imagens individuais, somando um tempo de exposição total de 30 minutos, tiradas de madrugada. A Lua está mesmo a nascer e a luz zodiacal brilha por cima dela, enquanto a Via Láctea se estende por todo o céu, do lado oposto ao observatório.Podemos ver na imagem as cúpulas abertas do observatório astronómico terrestre mais avançado do mundo: os quatro Telescópios Auxiliares mais pequenos, de 1,8 metros, que podem ser usados em conjunto no modo interferométrico, e os Telescópios Principais gigantes de 8,2 metros. À direita na imagem e por baixo do arco da Via Láctea, podemos ver duas das nossas vizinhas galácticas, a Pequena e a Grande Nuvens de Magalhães. Encontra-se disponível ...

2 de Novembro de 2009: Esta fotografia mostra um raio laser a ser lançado a partir do Yepun, o quarto Telescópio Principal do observatório mais emblemático da Europa , o Very Large Telescope do ESO (VLT). Este feixe é utilizado para criar uma estrela artificial por cima do Paranal, auxiliando assim os instrumentos de óptica adaptativa do VLT. A óptica adaptativa é uma técnica que permite aos astrónomos superar o efeito de distorção da atmosfera, obtendo-se imagens tão nítidas como se o telescópio estivesse no espaço, para lá da atmosfera terrestre. A óptica adaptativa necessita de uma estrela de referência nas proximidades do alvo astronómico, que deve ser relativamente brilhante, limitando assim a área do céu que pode ser observada. Para superar esta dificuldade, os astrónomos no Paranal utilizam um laser poderoso que cria uma estrela artificial onde e quando é preciso (veja eso0607 e eso0727). O lançamento de um laser de tal potência a ...

26 de Outubro de 2009: Sitting in the stunning environment surrounding ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal, Chile, are Joe Liske from ESO and Eva Noyola from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. The photo is a still image from the recently released 3D film, The EYE 3D — Life and Research on Cerro Paranal, directed by Nikolai Vialkowitsch. The movie, starring the two young scientists, as well as other people involved in the exciting activities at the VLT, offers a brand new, three-dimensional take on the life and research of astronomers. It has been produced by parallax raumprojektion and fact&film, in close collaboration with ESO and other partners and will be coming soon in cinemas across Germany. Don’t forget to wear red-cyan glasses to enjoy the spectacular 3D effect! Links The movie's ESO web page The movie’s external web page: http://www.theeye3d.eu The EYE 3D, press kit (German, PDF format)

19 de Outubro de 2009: Portrayed in this beautiful image is the spiral galaxy NGC 1448, with a prominent disc of young and very bright stars surrounding its small, shining core. Located about 60 million light-years away from the Sun, this galaxy has recently been a prolific factory of supernovae, the dramatic explosions that mark the death of stars : after a first one observed in this galaxy in 1983, two more have been discovered during the past decade. Visible as a red dot inside the disc, in the upper right part of the image, is the supernova observed in 2003 (SN 2003hn), whereas another one, detected in 2001 (SN 2001el), can be noticed as a tiny blue dot in the central part of the image, just below the galaxy’s core. If captured at the peak of the explosion, a supernova might be as bright as the whole galaxy that hosts it. This image was ...