Una Mirada hacia el Pasado – Antes y Ahora en el Observatorio La Silla
La fotografía es parte de la medición COMBO-17 (Classifying Objects by Medium-Band Observations in 17 Filters), un proyecto dedicado a registrar detalladas imágenes de pequeñas manchas del cielo a través de filtros de 17 colores diferentes. El área cubierta en esta fotografía es sólo del tamaño de la Luna llena, pero miles de galaxias pueden ser identificadas justo dentro de esta pequeña región.
La fotografía fue tomada con un tiempo de exposición de casi siete horas, lo que permitió a la cámara capturar la luz de objetos muy tenues y lejanos, como asimismo aquellos que están más cerca de nosotros. Las galaxias con estructuras claras y regulares, tal como el especímen espiral visto de canto cerca de la esquina superior izquierda, sólo están a unos pocos billones de años-luz de distancia. Los objetos más débiles y confusos están tan lejos que ha tomado nueve o diez mil millones de años para que su luz nos llegue.
El rastreo COMBO-17 es una poderosa herramienta para estudiar la distribución de materia oscura en las galaxias. La materia oscura es una misteriosa sustancia que no emite ni absorbe luz y sólo puede ser detectada por su tirón gravitacional sobre otros objetos. Algunas de las galaxias más cercanas fotografiadas actúan como lentes que distorsionan la luz que viene de galaxias más distantes ubicadas sobre la misma linea visual. Al medir esta distorsión, un efecto conocido como lente gravitacional, los astrónomos son capaces de comprender como la materia oscura está distribuida en los objetos que actuan como lentes.
La distorsión es débil y, por lo tanto, casi imperceptible al ojo humano. Sin embargo, debido a que rastrear el cielo con 17 filtros permite mediciones de distancia extremadamente precisas, es posible determinar si dos galaxias que parecen estar cerca entre si en realidad están a distancias muy diferentes de la Tierra. Después de identificar los sistemas de lentes galácticos, la distorsión puede ser medida promediando entre miles de galaxias. Con más de 4000 lentes galácticos identificados, esta medición COMBO-17 es un método ideal para ayudar a los astrónomos a comprender mejor la materia oscura.
Esta fotografía fue tomada con tres de los 17 filtros del proyecto: B (azul), V (verde) y R (rojo). También se usó información a través de un filtro adicional casi infrarrojo.
Enlaces
Crédito:ESO
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1202a |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Observación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 9 de Enero de 2012 a las 10:00 |
| Tamaño: | 7664 x 6961 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | COMBO-17 survey |
| Tipo: | Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
Formatos de imagen
Fondo de pantalla
Coordenadas
| Position (RA): | 11 42 55.95 |
| Position (Dec): | -1° 42' 41.29" |
| Field of view: | 30.41 x 27.62 arcminutes |
| Orientación: | El norte está a 0.1° a la derecha de la vertical |
Colores y filtros
| Banda | Longitud de onda | Telescopio |
|---|---|---|
| Óptico B | 440 nm | MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope WFI |
| Óptico V | 550 nm | MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope WFI |
| Óptico R | 650 nm | MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope WFI |
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