APEX' ijzige spitsbroeders
De 'Atacama Pathfinder Experiment'-telescoop (APEX) - door ESO Photo AmbassadorBabak Tafreshi vastgelegd in deze dramatische opname - is een van de middelen die ESO gebruikt om verder dan het zichtbare licht te kijken. Het is gelegen op de Chajnantor Hoogvlakte op een hoogte van 5.000 meter.
Op de voorgrond zijn clusters van witte Penitentes zichtbaar. Penitentes (Spaans voor boetelingen) is een merkwaardig natuurverschijnsel dat is te vinden op hooggelegen gebieden, vaak op meer dan 4.000 meter boven de zeespiegel. Het zijn dunne punten van verharde sneeuw of ijs, waarbij de sprieten richting de zon wijzen en enkele centimeters tot meters hoog worden.
APEX is een 12-meter-diameter telescoop die waarneemt in het millimeter en submillimeter golflengtegebied. Astronomen observeren met APEX verschijnselen die onzichtbaar zijn op kortere golflengten. De telescoop stelt hen in staat om moleculaire wolken te bestuderen. Dat zijn gebieden van dicht gas en kosmisch stof waarin nieuwe sterren worden geboren. Die jonge sterren zijn niet waarneembaar in het zichtbare en infrarood licht, maar gloeien fel in relatief langere golflengten. Astronomen gebruiken dit licht om de chemische en fysische omstandigheden in de moleculaire wolken te bestuderen. Ook zijn deze golflengten ideaal voor het bestuderen van een aantal van de vroegste en verste sterrenstelsels in het heelal.
Linksboven APEX, net zichtbaar aan de nachtelijke hemel, zien we vage vlekken van de Kleine en Grote Magelhaense Wolken, de naburige sterrenstelsels van ons eigen Melkwegstelsel. Het vlak van de Melkweg zelf kan worden gezien als een wazige band over de hemel, en valt het meeste op boven het APEX-controlegebouw aan de rechterkant. Donkere vlekken in de band zijn regio’s waar het licht van verre sterren wordt geblokkeerd door interstellair stof. Verscholen achter deze donkere wolkenpartijen ligt het centrum van de Melkweg op een afstand van ongeveer 27.000 lichtjaar. Telescopen zoals APEX zijn een cruciaal hulpmiddel voor astronomen om door het stof te dringen en zo het centrum van ons melkwegstelsel tot in detail te bestuderen.
APEX is een samenwerkingsproject van het Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), het Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) en ESO. Het beheer van APEX is in handen van ESO.
Links
Vertaling: Teun van Vijfeijken
Credit:ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | potw1247a |
| Taal: | nl |
| Type: | Fotografisch |
| Publicatiedatum: | 19 november 2012 10:00 |
| Grootte: | 6124 x 4096 px |
Over het object
| Naam: | Atacama Pathfinder Experiment |
| Type: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
Afbeeldingstypen
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