Les étoiles se forment en silence
Ce portrait spectaculaire de la galaxie Centaurus A a été capturé sous un ciel dégagé par le tout nouvel observatoire opérationnel d'ESO, SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars), situé à l'observatoire de Paranal au Chili. Cet observatoire de pointe est équipé d'un réseau de quatre télescopes d'un mètre, nommés chacun d'après l'un des quatre satellites galiléens. Les télescopes SPECULOOS sont voisins de deux des plus puissants télescopes d’ESO, le Very Large Telescope (VLT) et VISTA. SPECULOOS va étudier jusqu'à dix fois plus d'étoiles naines rouges que le télescope TRAPPIST (situé à l'observatoire d'ESO La Silla). Il est statistiquement prévu de trouver au moins douze systèmes solaires de taille similaire au désormais célèbre système TRAPPIST-1.
La galaxie Centaurus A (NGC 5128) est l’un des objets les plus brillants du ciel nocturne de l’hémisphère sud, situé dans la constellation du Centaure. Elle a été découverte en 1826 par l'astronome écossais James Dunlop à l'ancien observatoire de Parramata. À une distance de 11 millions d'années-lumière, c'est le noyau actif de galaxie (AGN) le plus proche de nous. Les astronomes théorisent que ce qui était à l'origine une galaxie elliptique soit entré en collision avec une galaxie spirale relativement plus petite, ce qui lui donne la forme particulière que nous voyons aujourd’hui. NGC 5128 a une collection impressionnante d'étoiles. A partir de cette image, vous pouvez observer des zones de formation d'étoiles rouges / roses en bas à gauche de l'image et de jeunes amas d'étoiles bleues en haut à droite de l'image; avec des bandes de poussière capturées dans des détails renversants.
Vers le centre de la galaxie, les restes de poussière cosmique sont lentement absorbés par le trou noir supermassif, qui a une masse d'environ 100 millions de masses solaires. Cette accumulation de matière entraîne l'émission de puissantes ondes radio par l'AGN.
Cette image a été prise comme l'une des images de première lumière des télescopes SPECULOOS. Les images de première lumière sont les toutes premières images prises par un télescope lors de sa mise en service pour les observations scientifiques afin de garantir son bon fonctionnement et la clarté des images.
Crédit:ESO/SPECULOOS Team/E. Jehin
À propos de l'image
| Identification: | potw1930a |
| Langage: | fr |
| Type: | Observation |
| Date de publication: | 29 juillet 2019 06:00 |
| Taille: | 2045 x 2040 px |
À propos de l'objet
| Nom: | Centaurus A |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Lenticular |
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
Fonds d'écran
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 13 25 27.88 |
| Position (Dec): | -43° 1' 6.81" |
| Field of view: | 11.78 x 11.75 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.2° right of vertical |
Couleurs & filtres
| Domaine | Télescope |
|---|---|
| Visible | SPECULOOS Southern Observatory |
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