By the light of the Moon

ESO Photo Ambassador Gianluca Lombardi used a remote shutter release and a 30-second exposure to take this night-time shot of himself sitting on a railing on the observing platform of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). The VLT is on Cerro Paranal, at an altitude of 2600 metres in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions on Earth. The viewing conditions at Paranal are so superb that on a clear moonless night it is possible to see shadows cast by the light of the Milky Way alone.  

In this photograph, however, the Moon is up, appearing as a bright light due to the long exposure. It is about to dip behind the VLT’s Unit Telescope 4 (UT4), named Yepun, and the shadows thrown by the moonlight are lengthening across the 200-metre width of the observing platform. The other three UTs stand in the background. From left to right they are known as Antu (UT1), Kueyen (UT2), and Melipal (UT3) in the indigenous Mapuche language. One of the four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes, distinguishable by its round enclosure, is visible in front of Antu, on the left.

Links

Källa:

ESO/G. Lombardi (glphoto.it)

Om bilden

ID:potw1124a
Typ:Foto
Publiceringsdatum:13 juni 2011 10:00
Storlek:3888 x 2592 px

Om objektet

Namn:Photo Ambassador, Very Large Telescope
Typ:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope
Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky
Kategori:Paranal

Bildformat

Originalstorlek
15,3 MB
Stor jpeg
1,6 MB
Skärmstor jpeg
136,3 kB

Zoombar


Skrivbordsunderlägg

1024x768
150,3 kB
1280x1024
236,1 kB
1600x1200
336,4 kB
1920x1200
399,3 kB
2048x1536
545,8 kB