Kohlensack, Emu, Steißhuhn?
Die Menschheit bestaunt den Sternhimmel schon seit Urzeiten, fasziniert vom fließenden Band der Milchstraße, den hellen Lichtern der Sterne und Planeten und den dunklen Flecken, die einige Stellen der Milchstraße durchsetzen. Verschiedene Kulturen hatten unterschiedliche Namen für diese Gebilde. Dieses Bild der Woche zeigt ein Objekt, das mit der Zeit verschiedene Deutungen gefunden hat, und es steht hier direkt neben einer der Antennen des Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Ganz oben im Bild, inmitten des Bands der Milchstraße, steht ein helles Sternpaar: Es ist Teil des Sternbilds Crux (Kreuz des Südens), einem der auffälligsten Sternbilder des südlichen Sternhimmels. Knapp unterhalb von Crux hebt sich eine unregelmäßige, dunkle Wolke vom hellen Band der Milchstraße ab, eine der auffälligsten Dunkelwolken und nur 600 Lichtjahre von uns entfernt: eine gigantische Wolke aus Molekülen, die so dicht ist, dass sie das Licht der dahinterliegenden Sterne verschluckt.
Der Name dieses dunklen Flecks hängt jedoch von der jeweiligen Kultur ab. Bei uns ist er als der Kohlensack bekannt, bei anderen wird er als großer Himmelsvogel angesehen. In der Astronomie der australischen Aborigines spielt er eine große Rolle. Dort kennt man ihn als den Kopf des Emus, der sich in den Himmel reckt, ein „Sternbild“ nicht aus Sternen, sondern aus Staub. Die Inka-Astronomen wiederum nannten den Fleck „Yutu“, was einen scheuen, rebhuhnartigen Vogel aus Südamerika bezeichnete (das Steißhuhn).
Dunkelwolken wie der Kohlensack können von sichtbarem Licht nicht durchdrungen werden. Doch das Licht dahinter liegender Sternen und Galaxien kann sie bei Millimeter- und Submillimter Wellenlängen oft durchqueren. Dieser Bereich des elektromagnetischen Spektrums wird von ALMA untersucht, ein Verbundteleskop aus 66 Antennen, das im Norden Chiles steht.
Herkunftsnachweis:ESO/Y. Beletsky (LCO)
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw2112a |
| Sprache: | de |
| Typ: | Fotografisch |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 22. März 2021 06:00 |
| Größe: | 7360 x 4912 px |
Über das Objekt
| Name: | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, Coalsack Nebula |
| Typ: | Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Dark : Molecular Cloud Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope |
Bildformate
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