Annonce
Signature d'un contrat pour la construction des routes et des fondations du télescope CTAO-Sud
3 juillet 2025
Cette semaine, un contrat majeur, d'une valeur de plusieurs millions d'euros, a été signé entre l'ESO et un consortium d'entreprises chiliennes pour la construction des fondations des télescopes du réseau de l'hémisphère sud du Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) (CTAO-Sud) à l'observatoire Paranal de l'ESO au Chili. Le contrat comprend plus de 50 fondations pour les télescopes du CTAO-Sud, ainsi qu'environ 17 km de routes reliant ces fondations aux installations de soutien. L'ESO, membre fondateur du CTAO European Research Infrastructure Consortium et hôte de son réseau sud, a signé le contrat au nom de cette organisation internationale. La construction de cette importante infrastructure civile devrait durer un an, ouvrant la voie à l'installation des premiers télescopes sur le site. Cette étape marque donc le début de la construction du réseau dans l'hémisphère sud.
Le CTAO sera l'observatoire terrestre le plus grand et le plus puissant pour l'astronomie des rayons gamma. Il se compose de deux réseaux de télescopes : CTAO-Sud et CTAO-Nord à La Palma, en Espagne. Situés l'un dans l'hémisphère sud et l'autre dans l'hémisphère nord, ils seront tous deux à l'affût d'une forme insaisissable de rayonnement appelée « rayonnement Cherenkov ». Lorsque les rayons gamma cosmiques atteignent l'atmosphère et interagissent avec elle, ils génèrent une cascade de particules ultra-énergétiques qui, en se déplaçant dans l'air, créent un léger éclair bleu de « lumière Cherenkov ». En analysant cette faible lumière, les astronomes peuvent en déduire beaucoup sur les sources cosmiques, comme les trous noirs supermassifs et les restes de supernova, qui ont émis les rayons gamma d'origine.
Pour capter le rayonnement Cherenkov, le site CTAO-Sud sera composé de 51 télescopes de différentes tailles afin de détecter à la fois les événements brillants et faibles. Le site couvrira une superficie d'environ 3 kilomètres carrés et sera situé à une dizaine de kilomètres du Cerro Paranal, où se trouve le Very Large Telescope de l'ESO. Une fois construit, le CTAO mettra les données et les logiciels d'analyse à la disposition de l'ensemble de la communauté scientifique mondiale, ce qui renforcera la collaboration internationale et permettra de répondre à des questions touchant à la fois à l'astronomie et à la physique des particules, comme la recherche de la matière noire, la mécanique des supernovae et la manière dont les étoiles à neutrons denses entrent en collision.
Le CTAO sera le premier observatoire de ce type, capable d'observer l'Univers à haute énergie avec une sensibilité inégalée. Son emplacement près du Cerro Paranal, loin des sources de pollution lumineuse et sous l'un des ciels nocturnes les plus sombres et les plus intacts du monde, est essentiel pour la détection de la lumière bleue Cherenkov extrêmement faible.
Liens
Contacts
Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670$
Email: press@eso.org
À propos de l'annonce
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