VST fotografía a Gaia camino de mil millones de estrellas
En estas nuevas imágenes, obtenidas por el telescopio VST (Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope) de ESO, vemos al satélite Gaia de la ESA en su posición, a 1,5 millones de kilómetros de la órbita terrestre.
Lanzado la mañana del jueves 19 de diciembre de 2013, la misión del satélite es construir un mapa 3D de nuestra galaxia en los próximos cinco años. Desde el principio de los tiempos, la humanidad ha soñado con tener un mapa del cielo, y Gaia abrirá las puertas a un conocimiento totalmente nuevo sobre nuestro vecindario estelar. Medirá con una gran precisión las posiciones y el movimiento de alrededor de mil millones de estrellas de nuestra galaxia con el fin de explorar la composición, formación y evolución de la Vía Láctea.
Estas nuevas observaciones son el resultado de una estrecha colaboración entre la ESA y ESO para hacer un seguimiento de la nave desde tierra. Gaia es la instalación astrométrica más precisa jamás construida pero, para que sus observaciones sean útiles, necesita saber con exactitud en qué lugar del universo se encuentra. La única forma de conocer con precisión la velocidad y posición de la nave es observándola diariamente desde tierra, usando telescopios como el VST de ESO, en una campaña conocida como GBOT (Ground-Based Optical Tracking, seguimiento óptico desde tierra).
El VST es un telescopio de última tecnología de 6,2 metros equipado con el instrumento OmegaCAM, un monstruo con una cámara CCD de 268 megapíxeles y un campo de visión equivalente a cuatro veces el área de la Luna llena. El pasado 23 de enero de 2014, en seis minutos y medio, el VST captó estas imagines utilizando OmegaCAM. Puede verse claramente a Gaia: es un pequeño punto en movimiento que destaca sobre un fondo estrellado. Su ubicación se marca con un círculo rojo. En estas imágenes, la nave es un millón de veces más débil de lo que puede detectar el ojo humano.
Gaia fue observada previamente por el VST en diciembre de 2013, poco después de su lanzamiento: es uno de los objetos más cercanos que haya observado el VST. ¡Apareció exactamente en la ubicación esperada, marcando un momento culminante y una exitosa colaboración entre la astronomía basada en tierra y la espacial!
Enlaces
Crédito:ESO
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1407a |
| Idioma: | es |
| Tipo: | Observación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 17 de Febrero de 2014 a las 10:00 |
| Tamaño: | 1880 x 1019 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | Gaia |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology : Spacecraft |
Colores y filtros
| Banda | Telescopio |
|---|---|
| VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
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