Nuova tecnologia per un futuro più nitido
Appollaiato tra l'arco a cascata della Via Lattea e lo scuro fianco della montagna dell’osservatorio di La Silla si trova il New Technology Telescope (NTT).
Dal 1989 questo telescopio dell'ESO ha osservato e ripreso immagini del nostro cielo notturno in modo squisitamente dettagliato. Alcuni dei suoi risultati più recenti includono: l'osservazione della fusione di due stelle di neutroni; una visione più dettagliata della struttura degli asteroidi; l'analisi di centinaia di nebulose planetarie; e persino la ricerca di pianeti in sistemi solari lontani.
I telescopi con specchi primari più grandi sono in grado di catturare più luce. Tuttavia, la forma perfetta di uno specchio più grande è più difficile da mantenere. Gli astronomi hanno scoperto che con specchi primari di oltre cinque metri di diametro, la qualità dell'immagine diminuisce enormemente man mano che la gravità modifica la loro forma (l’NTT ha un diametro di 3,5 metri ed è stato pensato come un progetto pionieristico per permettere la costruzione di telescopi con specchi più grandi). L'ottica attiva, svilupata dall'ingegnere dell'ESO Raymond Wilson, significa che uno specchio primario sottile e deformabile può essere controllato da un sistema di supporto primario che applica la forza necessaria per correggere queste deformazioni indotte dalla gravità.
I miglioramenti per l'astronomia da Terra grazie a questo nuovo design furono enormi. L'ottica attiva divenne la caratteristica principale del NTT, che da allora osserva i fenomeni del cielo in modo squisitamente dettagliato. L'ottica attiva del telescopio fu presto implementata nei due telescopi segmentati da 10 metri dell’osservatorio Keck alle Hawaii. Il design di questo telescopio era rivoluzionario. I progressi vengono fatti ancora oggi, implementando una tecnologia simile in alcuni dei più grandi telescopi del mondo.
Crediti:ESO/P. Horálek
Riguardo l'immagine
| Identificazione: | potw2125a |
| Lingua: | it-ch |
| Tipo: | Fotografico |
| Data di rilascio: | Lunedì 21 Giugno 2021 06:00 |
| Grandezza: | 6171 x 9029 px |
Riguardo all'oggetto
| Nome: | New Technology Telescope |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope |
Formati delle immagini
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