Une los puntos
Une los puntos
Cuatro rayos láser brillan sobre el magnífico cielo austral en esta Imagen de la Semana. En cada haz, vemos gotas de luz brillante, creadas por finas capas de nubes que se cruzan en el camino de los láseres y nos indican la fuente de estos haces. Emitidos por las cuatro Unidades de Telescopio (UT) del Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO (en esta imagen, trabajando juntos como parte del VLTI, el Interferómetro del VLT), la forma de los cuatro puntos brillantes refleja la disposición de las UT. Pero estas manchas fueron un feliz accidente causado por nubes que casualmente se interponían (los láseres en realidad apuntan a una capa mucho más alta de nuestra atmósfera).
Desde noviembre de 2025, las cuatro UT están equipadas con láseres como parte de una serie de mejoras significativas del VLTI denominadas GRAVITY+. Cada láser crea una "estrella" artificial, a 90 kilómetros sobre la superficie terrestre, utilizada para detectar cómo la atmósfera en movimiento distorsiona la luz entrante. Esto permite a un telescopio realizar correcciones en tiempo real que anulan el efecto de emborronamiento de la atmósfera. La luz "sin difuminar" de las cuatro UT puede combinarse para realizar observaciones detalladas de objetos cósmicos distantes. Esta mejora ha desbloqueado todo el cielo del sur al VLTI, permitiendo al sistema observar objetos mucho más tenues que antes.
En esta imagen, los telescopios y los láseres apuntan al centro de nuestra galaxia, la región alrededor del agujero negro supermasivo Sagitario A*. Si observa detenidamente el vértice del triángulo láser, podrá distinguir las cuatro diminutas estrellas artificiales creadas por los haces. Observar de forma más detallada el corazón de la Vía Láctea es una motivación científica clave para GRAVITY+, en particular para entender las propiedades de nuestro agujero negro supermasivo.
"Para mí, esta imagen es un logro", declara Anthony Berdeu, fotógrafo y astrónomo de ESO que trabaja en el proyecto GRAVITY+ desde 2022. "Fueron años intensos, desafiantes, pero fascinantes, en los que tuve la oportunidad de trabajar con grandes personas, con mucho talento, del consorcio y de ESO", reflexiona. Tras años de duro trabajo implementando las mejoras, "la primera noche en la que los láseres se enfocaron hacia el centro galáctico, tenía que estar en la plataforma VLT para hacer una foto”. Su fotografía capta no solo los cuatro láseres —que parecen atravesar la mancha oscura donde nubes de polvo cósmico cubren el centro galáctico— sino también la brillante banda de la Vía Láctea en la parte inferior derecha y, a la izquierda, la nebulosa de la Laguna y la nebulosa Trífida (ambas a unos 5000 años luz de distancia). Además, Berdeu tuvo una "agradable sorpresa" cuando una fina nube que estaba de paso interceptó los láseres, mostrando el contorno de las UT en puntos dorados, "añadiendo algo de dramatismo a la escena".
Enlaces
- Versión de esta imagen con la disposición del telescopio y anotaciones
- Vídeo timelapse de los láseres atravesando las nubes
A. Berdeu/ESO
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw2621a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Fecha de publicación: | 25 de Mayo de 2026 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 6864 x 4576 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Laser Guide Star, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope Interferometer, VLT Unit Telescopes |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
Formatos de imagen
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