Messier 87 capturada pelo Very Large Telescope do ESO
Messier 87 (M87) é uma galáxia elíptica enorme situada a cerca de 55 milhões de anos-luz de distância da Terra, visível na constelação da Virgem. Foi descoberta por Charles Messier em 1781, mas não foi identificada como galáxia até ao século XX. Com o dobro da massa da nossa própria galáxia, a Via Láctea, e contendo cerca de dez vezes mais estrelas, conta-se entre as maiores galáxias do Universo Local. Para além do seu tamanho, M87 tem algumas características bastante únicas. Por exemplo, contém uma grande quantidade de enxames globulares: enquanto a nossa Via Láctea não tem mais de 200, a M87 conta com cerca de 12000, o que alguns cientistas sugerem ser devido ao facto de os ter arrebatado a galáxias vizinhas mais pequenas.
Tal como todas as grandes galáxias, M87 tem um buraco negro supermassivo no seu centro. A massa do buraco negro situado no centro de uma galáxia está relacionada com a massa da galáxia no geral, por isso não é surpreendente que o buraco negro da M87 seja um dos mais massivos que se conhecem. O buraco negro pode também explicar uma das características mais energéticas da galáxia: um jacto relativista de matéria que está a ser ejectado com uma velocidade quase igual à da luz.
Este buraco negro foi objeto de observações do Event Horizon Telescope. O EHT escolheu-o como alvo por duas razões. Apesar da resolução do EHT ser muito boa, ainda assim tem os seus limites. Como os buracos negros mais massivos são também maiores em diâmetro, o buraco negro central de M87 apresentava um alvo invulgarmente grande, o que significa que podiam obter-se imagens dele mais facilmente do que de buracos negros mais pequenos mas mais próximos. A outra razão foi claramente mais "terrena". M87 apresenta-se relativamente perto do equador celeste quando observada a partir da Terra, o que a torna visível tanto no hemisfério norte como no hemisfério sul. Este facto maximizou o número de telescópios do EHT que a podiam observar, aumentando assim a resolução da imagem final.
Esta imagem foi caturada pelo instrumento FORS2 montado no Very Large Telescope do ESO, no âmbito do programa Jóias Cósmicas do ESO, o qual visa obter imagens de objetos interessantes, intrigantes ou visualmente atrativos, utilizando os telescópios do ESO, para efeitos de educação e divulgação científica. O programa utiliza tempo de telescópio que não pode ser usado em observações científicas, produzindo imagens bonitas de alguns dos objetos mais espectaculares do céu noturno. Todos os dados obtidos podem ter igualmente interesse científico no futuro e são por isso guardados e postos à disposição dos astrónomos através do Arquivo Científico do ESO.
Créditos:ESO
Sobre a imagem
| Id: | eso1907b |
| Língua: | pt |
| Tipo: | Observação |
| Data de divulgação: | 10 de Abril de 2019 às 15:07 |
| Notícias relacionadas: | eso2305, eso2105, eso1907 |
| Tamanho: | 1646 x 1666 px |
Sobre o objeto
| Nome: | Messier 87 |
| Tipo: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
Formatos de imagens
Papéis de parede
Coordenadas
| Position (RA): | 12 30 49.29 |
| Position (Dec): | 12° 23' 29.38" |
| Field of view: | 6.92 x 7.00 arcminutes |
| Orientação: | O norte está a -0.0° à esquerda da vertical |
Cores e filtros
| Banda | Comprimento de onda | Telescópio |
|---|---|---|
| Óptico b | 440 nm | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Óptico v | 557 nm | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Óptico R | 655 nm | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
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