Vier lasers boven Paranal
Glinsterend tegen de overweldigende achtergrond van de nachtelijke hemel boven het Paranal Observatory van ESO schijnen vier laserstralen vanaf Unit Telescope 4 (UT4) van de Very Large Telescope (VLT). Het zijn de sterkste kunstmatige sterren ooit gebruikt en het zijn de eerste meervoudige lasergeleide sterren van ESO. De lasers slaan ongeveer 90 kilometer hoog in de atmosfeer natriumatomen aan. Daardoor ontstaan er kunstmatige sterren die de telescoop kan gebruiken voor het adaptive optics systeem.
Moderne telescopen gebruiken adaptieve optiek om het vervagende effect te compenseren dat de aardatmosfeer veroorzaakt. De telescopen hebben een heldere referentiester nodig terwijl ze naar hun echte doel kijken. Er is echter niet altijd een referentiester in de buurt. Daarom gebruiken astronomen lasers om een kunstmatige ster te maken op precies die plek waar ze hem nodig hebben. Natriumatomen hoog in de atmosfeer gaan gloeien door de lasers. Ze vormen kleine pakketjes licht en doen als het ware echte sterren na.
Door het gebruik van meerdere lasers tegelijkertijd kunnen de astronomen de eigenschappen van de atmosfeer beter in kaart brengen en het beeld nog beter corrigeren dan met één laser. De vier net op UT4 aangebrachte lasers vormen een van de meest geavanceerde lasergeleidestersystemen ooit. Ze zijn een voorbeeld van hoe ESO samen met de Europese industrie complexe R&D-projecten uitvoert. De nieuwe lasers zorgen ervoor dat de VLT zeer scherpe beelden kan maken, bijna tot aan de diffractielimiet van de telescoop. Dankzij deze nieuwe faciliteit houdt het Paranal Observatory de meeste en de meest geavanceerde adaptive-opticssystemen ter wereld. Het nieuwe systeem is ook de voorloper voor het systeem dat op de European Extremely Large Telescope van ESO zal komen.
Credit:ESO/F. Kamphues
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | potw1618a |
| Taal: | nl |
| Type: | Fotografisch |
| Publicatiedatum: | 2 mei 2016 06:00 |
| Gerelateerde mededelingen: | ann21007 |
| Grootte: | 3648 x 5481 px |
Over het object
| Naam: | Very Large Telescope |
| Type: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope |
Afbeeldingstypen
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