V sta per VLT
Questa immagine della settimana mostra un'enorme "V" celeste attraverso il cielo notturno sopra l’osservatorio di Paranal dell'ESO, che si trova in cima al Cerro Paranal in Cile.
Un braccio della "V" è visibilmente più chiaro dell'altro; il braccio destro, rivolto verso l'angolo in alto a destra del fotogramma, viene tracciato dal bellissimo centro stellato della Via Lattea. Il braccio più debole, a sinistra, è formato da colonne incandescenti di luce zodiacale diffusa, un fenomeno causato dalla luce solare disseminata da piccole particelle di polvere cosmica.
Mentre vediamo spesso sia la Via Lattea che la luce zodiacale a Paranal, grazie ai cieli notoriamente limpidi del sito, l'allineamento "V" mostrato qui è insolito. La luce zodiacale è legata al percorso della Terra attraverso lo spazio, poiché le particelle di polvere responsabili della dispersione della luce solare sono tutte all'interno di una nuvola che giace sul piano dell'eclittica (soprannominata la nuvola zodiacale). Per questo motivo, il bagliore varia in forza e visibilità durante tutto l'anno, e si vede meglio in primavera e in autunno subito dopo il tramonto o prima dell'alba. L'opportunità di osservare un raggio di luce zodiacale che sembra emanare dal centro stesso della Via Lattea accade solo una volta all'anno, nel mese di gennaio. Per maggiori informazioni su questo fenomeno cosmico, vedi ESOcast 82: Luce zodiacale.
Nell'incavo della "V" si trova uno dei Telescopi Ausiliari (TA) di 1.8 metri del Very Large Telescope dell'ESO, ce ne sono quattro in totale. Ogni TA è alloggiato in un robusto involucro che protegge il delicato telescopio e la strumentazione dalle dure condizioni aride di questo sito desertico. Altri due TA sono visibili sullo sfondo verso il lato sinistro dell'immagine.
La foto è stata scattata dall’ambasciatore fotografo di ESO Petr Horálek.
Crediti:
P. Horálek/ESO
Riguardo l'immagine
| Identificazione: | potw1835a |
| Lingua: | it-ch |
| Tipo: | Fotografico |
| Data di rilascio: | Lunedì 27 Agosto 2018 06:00 |
| Grandezza: | 7087 x 7559 px |
Riguardo all'oggetto
| Nome: | Paranal |
| Tipo: | Milky Way |
Formati delle immagini
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