Anúncio
Concluídas fontes laser para o ELT e o GRAVITY+ do ESO
30 de Setembro de 2024
Hoje, numa cerimónia perto de Munique, pessoal do ESO e da empresa alemã TOPTICA celebraram a conclusão da última fonte laser para o Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) do ESO. Foram também concluídos os lasers para o instrumento GRAVITY+, montado do Interferómetro do Very Large Telescope (VLTI) do ESO.
O ELT irá contar com seis lasers potentes [1] que excitarão átomos de sódio na atmosfera superior da Terra, criando estrelas artificiais. Estas “estrelas” serão utilizadas para medir a desfocagem causada pela atmosfera terrestre, de modo a que os espelhos adaptativos do ELT a possam corrigir. Ao empregar estes sistemas de óptica adaptativa sofisticados, o telescópio e os seus instrumentos conseguirão obter imagens mais nítidas do que qualquer outro telescópio terrestre.
A TOPTICA, em parceria com a empresa canadiana MPB Communications Inc. (MPBC), acaba de terminar uma série de nove fontes laser, as quais dão origem aos raios laser. Seis delas serão utilizadas no ELT e três no GRAVITY+, uma atualização que está a ser feita ao instrumento GRAVITY montado no VLTI do ESO. As nove fontes laser estão agora concluídas e acabam de ser entregues ao ESO. Esta produção de lasers recente vem no seguimento de um programa bem sucedido, iniciado em 2009, com o objetivo de desenvolver e industrializar uma tecnologia laser adequada às estrelas guia laser de sódio para telescópios astronómicos.
O ESO será responsável pela integração das fontes laser com os restantes componentes que formam as estrelas guia laser. Cada uma inclui, para além da fonte de luz, uma subunidade de projeção, que expande o feixe laser e o aponta para o céu, e um permutador de calor, que estabiliza a temperatura da fonte laser. A organização neerlandesa TNO foi contratada para fornecer as subunidades de projeção, enquanto a empresa italiana Tecoelettra forneceu as unidades de permuta de calor.
À semelhança dos lasers do Very Large Telescope do ESO, cada um dos novos lasers fornecerá 22 watts de luz laser amarelo-alaranjada — cerca de 4000 vezes o máximo permitido num ponteiro laser comercial — num feixe com um diâmetro de 30 centímetros. Graças a estes lasers, o espelho de 39 metros do ELT será capaz de obter imagens extremamente nítidas de todo o céu.
Quando vir a sua primeira luz no final desta década, o ELT do ESO permitir-nos-á observar o Universo mais profundamente e mais longe do que nunca. O telescópio está atualmente em construção no deserto chileno do Atacama.
Notas
[1] O ELT pode ter um total de oito estrelas guia laser. O telescópio estará equipado com seis estrelas guia laser na altura da sua primeira luz, com a possibilidade de as aumentar para oito no futuro.
Contactos
Steffan Lewis
ELT Optical Control Project Manager at ESO
European Southern Observatory
Garching bei München, Alemanha
Email: slewis@eso.org
Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München, Alemanha
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
Email: press@eso.org
Sobre o anúncio
| Id: | ann24016 |
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