VLT fångar Gaia på sin väg mot en miljard stjärnor
De här nya bilderna från ESO:s kartläggningsteleskop VST visar ESA:s rymdfarkost Gaia på plats omkring 1,5 miljoner kilometer bortom jordens bana.
Satelliten, som sändes upp på morgonen den 18 december 2013, har till uppgift att under de närmaste fem åren bygga upp en 3D-karta över vår galax. Ända sedan tidens början har det varit ett av mänsklighetens stora mål att kartlägga himlen, och Gaia kommer att ta vår förståelse av vårt närområde i rymden till en helt ny nivå. Den kommer att mäta positioner för och rörelserna hos cirka en miljard stjärnor i vår galax med mycket stor noggrannhet. Syftet: att undersöka Vintergatans sammansättning, hur den bildats och utvecklas.
Dessa nya observationer är ett resultat av ett tätt samarbete mellan ESA och ESO med syfte att bevaka satelliten från marken. När det gäller att mäta stjärnors positioner är Gaia det mest noggranna instrument som någonsin byggts, men för att dess observationer ska vara till nytta måste man veta exakt var teleskopet befinner sig i universum. Det enda sättet att med hög precision veta satellitens position och hastighet med hög precision är att observera den på daglig basis från jordskorpan. Till detta används flera teleskop, bland dem ESO:s VST, i en observationskampanj som går under namnet GBOT (Ground-Based Optical Tracking).
VST är ett toppmodernt 2,6-metersteleskop som är utrustat med 268-megapixlars monsterkameran OmegaCAM, som har ett synfält fyra gånger större än fullmånen. VST tog dessa bilder med OmegaCAM den 23 januari 2014, med ungefär 6,5 minuter mellan exponeringarna. Gaia syns tydligt som en liten prick som rör sig mot stjärnorna i bakgrunden. Dess plats är markerad med en röd ring. I dessa bilder är satelliten ungefär en miljon gånger ljussvagare än vad man kan se med blotta ögat.
Gaia avbildades redan i december 2013, strax efter uppsändningen, och blev ett av de närmaste objekten som observerats av VST. Den dök upp precis där den förväntades vara, som det anstår ett framgångsrikt samarbete mellan astronomi från marken och från rymden!
Källa:ESO
Om bilden
| ID: | potw1407a |
| Språk: | sv |
| Typ: | Observation |
| Publiceringsdatum: | 17 februari 2014 10:00 |
| Storlek: | 1880 x 1019 px |
Om objektet
| Namn: | Gaia |
| Typ: | Unspecified : Technology : Spacecraft |
Färger och filter
| Band | Teleskop |
|---|---|
| VLT Survey Telescope OmegaCAM |
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