Imágenes de la semana

29 de Enero de 2008: Artist's impression of the disc of matter surrounding the young stellar object MWC 147 as inferred from observations made with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer. Thanks to these observations, astronomers have probed the inner parts of the disc of material surrounding the MWC 147, witnessing how it gains its mass before becoming an adult. A slice has been cut to show the inner structure better. The disc extends out to 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun (100 Astronomical Units — 100 AU). It is inclined by about 50 degrees as seen from Earth. The dust in the outer disc emits mainly at mid-infrared wavelengths, while close to the star there is also strong near-infrared emission from very hot gas. This gas is transported towards the forming star, increasing its mass at a rate of 7 millionths of the mass of the Sun — or about 2 ...

21 de Enero de 2008: Colour-composite image of the triplet of galaxies, catalogued as NGC 7173 (top), 7174 (bottom right) and 7176 (bottom left), and located 106 million light-years away towards the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the 'Southern Fish'). This triplet of galaxies makes up part of the Hickson Compact Group HCG 90. NGC 7173 and 7176 are elliptical galaxies, while NGC 7174 is a spiral galaxy with quite disturbed dust lanes and a long, twisted tail. This seems to indicate that the two lower galaxies - whose combined shape bears some resemblance to that of a sleeping baby - are currently interacting. Astronomers have suggested that the three galaxies will finally merge. The size of the image is about 5.3 arcminutes. The image is based on data obtained with the VLT FORS1 instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope through three different filters, B, V, and R. The data were extracted from the ESO Science ...

14 de Enero de 2008: Este cuarteto es uno de los más bellos ejemplos de un grupo compacto de galaxias. Además es un excelente laboratorio para estudiar las interacciones entre galaxias y los efectos en la formación de estrellas.

7 de Enero de 2008: Estas extrañas formaciones de nieve y el hielo, llamadas "penitentes", se dan en regiones de gran altitud, como el llano de Chajnantor, cerca de donde se ubicará el conjunto ALMA. Se trata de láminas de hielo producidas por el contraste entre la sublimación y la fusión de la nieve. En Chajnantor, durante el solsticio de verano, el Sol está cerca del cenit al mediodía, y los penitentes adquieren formas verticales. Esta imagen fue tomada en diciembre de 2005. Esta imagen está disponible como imagen enmarcada en la tienda ESOshop.

24 de Diciembre de 2007: Una exposición de 30 minutos en banda K del VLT/NACO fue combinada con imágenes de archivo en banda B e I del HST/ACS para producir una imagen en tres colores del sistema de galaxias interactuante denominado "el Pájaro". La imagen de NACO ha permitido a los astrónomos no solamente examinar las dos galaxias ya conocidas, sino identificar un tercer componente claramente separado, una enorme galaxia irregular que parece formar estrellas a un ritmo frenético. La imagen final en color fue producida por Henri Boffin (ESO).

17 de Diciembre de 2007: On 3 and 4 December 2007, the two ALMA antenna transporters, Otto and Lore, were being loaded onto a barge on the Neckar at Heilbronn harbour (Germany) to start their long journey to Chile. From there, they will travel to Antwerpen (Belgium) and then put onto a ship towards the port of Mejillones, in the north of Chile, to finally reach the ALMA base, close to San Pedro de Atacama. The ALMA antenna transporters are each 20 metre long, 10 metre wide and 6 metre high, and weigh 130 tonnes. They will be able to transport a 115-tonne antenna and set it down on a concrete pad within millimetres of a prescribed position. Image taken in December 2007.

10 de Diciembre de 2007: The first three Japanese ALMA antennas of the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) at the ALMA Operation Support Facility, located close to the town of San Pedro de Atacama in the Chilean Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 2900m. At the time of the picture, in November 2007, the antennas were undergoing final tests before being handed over to the ALMA Observatory. The 12-m antennas were built by MELCO for the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, one of the partners in the ALMA partnership.

1 de Diciembre de 2007: On 17 and 18 November 2007, the Regional Minister for Research of the Belgian French-speaking Community, Marie-Dominique Simonet, visited Paranal. This was part of a week-long visit to Brazil and Chile, in which the Minister promoted the 'Competitivity Poles' as well as Research and Education in this part of the world. The Minister was accompanied by a delegation comprising Claude Gonfroy and Jean-Luc Horward, members of her Cabinet, Jean-Pierre Swings, former member of the ESO Council, Claude Jamar from the Centre Spatial de Liėge, and Bill Collins, from the AMOS company which built the four Auxiliary Telescopes. Ten French-speaking Belgian journalists, including two TV crews, also joined the Minister for a day at Paranal. Felix Mirabel, ESO's Representative in Chile, Olivier Hainaut, Head of Science Operations at Paranal, and Ueli Weilenmann, were the hosts of the Minister. The Minister visited the telescopes and facilities on site and showed a clear ...

23 de Noviembre de 2007: Dos veces al año, para un observador situado en la cima de la montaña de Armazones, la puesta de sol pasa exactamente detrás de Paranal, a 20 kilómetros de distancia. Las coordenadas para calcular qué días y a qué horas sucede este evento se extrajeron de las ubicaciones de ambos sitios en Google Earth y teniendo en cuenta efectos atmosféricos. La imagen muestra claramente tres de las cuatro grandes cúpulas de las unidades de telescopio de 8,2 metros (la cuarta está detrás) del VLT (Very Large Telescope) de ESO; a su derecha, la cúpula del VST, y en el extremo derecho, el alto puesto meteorológico con la torre de DIMM. A la izquierda de la imagen también pueden verse las cúpulas parcialmente abiertas de los telescopios auxiliares de 1,8 metros, más pequeños. La imagen fue tomada por Stéphane Guisard (ESO) utilizando un telescopio refractor Takahashi FS128, una cámara Canon20Da y ...