Marte, 2099?
Numa noite escura e fria em Marte, no meio de um deserto árido, uma estrada estreita iluminada por luzes artificiais serpenteia até a um posto humano avançado no cimo de uma velha montanha. Ou, pelo menos, é o que um fã de ficção científica poderia pensar desta imagem quase extraterrestre.
Na realidade, a fotografia mostra o Observatório do Paranal do ESO, local do Very Large Telescope (VLT), na Terra. No entanto, é fácil imaginá-la como uma imagem futura de Marte, talvez no final do século. Por isso mesmo é que Julien Girard, o autor da fotografia, lhe deu o nome de Marte 2099.
Situado a 2600 metros de altitude, o Observatório do Paranal encontra-se numa das regiões mais secas e desoladas da Terra, no deserto do Atacama do Chile. A paisagem é tão "marciana", que a Agência Espacial Europeia (ESA) e a NASA testam os rovers marcianos nesta região. Como exemplo, uma equipa da ESA acaba de testar neste local o rover autónomo Seeker, tal como anunciado em ann12048.
Esta imagem foi obtida ao pôr do Sol, na direção do VLT, para sudoeste, a partir do telescópio de rastreio VISTA, que se situa num pico adjacente. A oeste temos o Oceano Pacífico, situado a apenas 12 quilómetros do Paranal. Por cima do pico do Paranal, podemos observar a Via Láctea, com a marca inconfundível do céu austral - o Cruzeiro do Sul.
No Paranal, os céus podem ser tão límpidos e escuros em noites sem Lua, que a luz da Via Láctea é suficiente para formar sombras. Esta é a razão pela qual o ESO escolheu este local para instalar o VLT, beneficiando o observatório das melhores condições de observação em todo o mundo.
Julien Girard é um astrónomo do ESO que trabalha no Chile, no VLT. Julien submeteu esta fotografia no grupo Flickr Your ESO Pictures. O grupo Flickr é regularmente revisto e as melhores fotografias são selecionadas para divulgação na nossa popular série "Fotografia da Semana", ou na galeria. Em 2012, no âmbito do 50º aniversário do ESO, damos igualmente relevo às vossas fotografias históricas relacionadas com o ESO.
Links
- Anúncio do ESO “Rover marciano autónomo testado no Observatório do Paranal do ESO”
- Nota de Imprensa do STFC, “Revolutionary navigation system for future Mars rovers”
- Esta fotografia anotada, na área de Julien Girard do Flickr
- A área de Julien Girard no Flickr
- O grupo Flickr “Your ESO Pictures”
- O anúncio de “Your ESO Pictures”
Créditos:
ESO/J. Girard (djulik.com)
Sobre a imagem
| Id: | potw1226a |
| Língua: | pt |
| Tipo: | Fotográfico |
| Data de divulgação: | 25 de Junho de 2012 às 10:00 |
| Tamanho: | 5184 x 3456 px |
Sobre o objeto
| Nome: | Very Large Telescope |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
Formatos de imagens
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