Una spolverata di neve sul deserto di Atacama
Le cupole del Very Large Telescope, situate sulla cima del Cerro Paranal, si crogiolano nel sole di un altro glorioso giorno senza nuvole. Ma qualcosa è diverso in questa immagine: un sottile strato di neve si è depositata sul paesaggio desertico. Non è qualcosa che si vede tutti i giorni, tutto il contrarrio infatti il deserto di Atacama è conosciuto per il numero quasi nullo di precipitazioni annue.
Molti fattori contribuiscono alle secche condizioni del deserto. Il massiccio delle Ande blocca le nuvole cariche di pioggia provenienti da Est, e il Massiccio Costiero Cileno da ovest. La fredda corrente Humbold in mare aperto crea un inversione d'aria fredda che impedisce alle nubi di formarsi. Una zona di alta pressione nel Sud-Est dell'Oceano Pacifico crea un circolo di venti, che a sua volta forma un anticiclone, che contribuisce a mantenere il clima della zona di Atacama molto secco. Grazie a tutti questi fattori, questa zona è riconosciuta come la più secca al mondo.
Sul Paranal, le precipitazioni annue misurano solitamente pochi millimetri, con il tasso di umidità spesso sotto la soglia del 10% e uno scarto di temperatura fra i -8 e i 25 gradi Celesius. Le secche condizioni del deserto di Atacama sono il fattore principale che ha spinto l'ESO a scegliere il deserto e in particolare Cerro Paranal come casa del Very Large Telescope. Mentre l'insolita nevicata ha interrotto per poco le secche condizioni del luogo, ha anche create una visuale di rara bellezza.
Questa foto è stata scattata dal fotografo ESO Stèphane Guisard il 1 Agosto 2011.
Links
Crediti:ESO/S. Guisard (www.eso.org/~sguisard)
A proposito dell'immagine
| Identificazione: | potw1211a |
| Lingua: | it |
| Tipo: | Fotografico |
| Data di pubblicazione: | Lunedì 12 Marzo 2012 10:00 |
| Dimensione: | 5616 x 3744 px |
A proposito delll'oggetto
| Nome: | Cerro Paranal, Paranal |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Planet : Feature : Surface |
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