Los dos cazadores de planetas, fotografiados en La Silla

Durante cientos de años, los filósofos y los científicos han soñado con la posibilidad de la existencia de planetas habitables fuera del Sistema Solar. Actualmente, esta idea es más que una especulación: a lo largo de las últimas dos décadas, astrónomos de todo el mundo han descubierto cientos de exoplanetas. En esta búsqueda de nuevos mundos se utilizan diversas técnicas. Esta inusual fotografía capta dos telescopios que usan dos métodos diferentes para buscar exoplanetas, el telescopio de 3,6 metros de ESO, que cuenta con el espectrógrafo HARPS, y el telescopio espacial CoRoT. La fotografía fue tomada por Alexandre Santerne, un astrónomo que, a su vez, estudia exoplanetas.

El espectrógrafo HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planetary Search), el cazador de planetas más importante del mundo, es un instrumento instalado en el telescopio de 3,6 metros de ESO. A la izquierda de la imagen, puede verse la cúpula abierta de este telescopio, detrás de la cúpula angular del telescopio NTT (New Technology Telescope). HARPS encuentra planetas detectando los pequeños cambios en el movimiento de una estrella a medida que se bambolea por la influencia gravitatoria del planeta que la orbita. Esto se conoce como técnica de velocidad radial para detectar exoplanetas.

La débil estela  de luz que se ve en la parte superior del cielo en esta exposición de 20 segundos no es un meteoro, sino CoRoT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits space telescope). CoRoT busca planetas observando la disminución en la intensidad de la luz de una estrella provocada por el paso de un planeta frente a ella — el método de tránsitos. La situación del telescopio espacial, sobre la atmósfera de la Tierra, mejora la precisión de sus observaciones al eliminar el titilar de las estrellas. Los posibles planetas detectados con este método de tránsitos se confirman utilizando técnicas complementarias como el método de la velocidad radial. De hecho, la misma noche en que se tomó esta fotografía, ¡HARPS estaba siguiendo candidatos a exoplanetas que habían sido detectados por CoRoT!

Desafortunadamente, en noviembre de 2012, CoRoT sufrió un problema en sus ordenadores, lo cual supuso que — pese a que aún funciona — ya no puede recuperar datos de su telescopio (ver las noticias en la página web de CoRoT, o por ejemplo este artículo de Nature News). El equipo de CoRoT no se ha rendido, y está trabajando para resucitar los sistemas. Resuciten o no a CoRoT, ¡no cabe la menor duda de que la misión ha sido todo un éxito! La nave ha doblado su tiempo estimado de vida, y fue la primera nave que descubrió un exoplaneta utilizando el método de tránsitos. CoRoT ha hecho grandes contribuciones, tanto a la búsqueda de exoplanetas, como al estudio del interior de las estrellas a través de la astrosismología.

La búsqueda de exoplaneta nos ayuda a comprender nuestro propio sistema planetario, y puede ser el primer paso para encontrar vida más allá de la Tierra. HARPS y CoRoT son tan solo dos de los numerosos instrumentos desarrollados para ayudar a los astrónomos en esta búsqueda.

Alexandre envió esta fotografía al grupo de Flickr “Tu foto de ESO”. El grupo de Flickr se revisa regularmente, y se seleccionan las mejores fotos para mostrarlas en nuestra conocida serie de la Imagen de la Semana, o en nuestra galería. En 2012, como parte del 50 aniversario de ESO, las imágenes históricas de ESO también son bienvenidas. Desde el envío de esta imagen, Alexandre se ha convertido en Fotógrafo Embajador de ESO.

Enlaces

Crédito:

ESO/A. Santerne

Sobre la imagen

Identificador:potw1248a
Idioma:es-cl
Tipo:Fotográfico
Fecha de publicación:26 de Noviembre de 2012 a las 10:00
Tamaño:3360 x 2171 px

Sobre el objeto

Nombre:La Silla
Tipo:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory

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