File:The VLT “Venus” and the Belt of Venus.jpg
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English: Before another clear, starry night falls at ESO's Paranal Observatory, home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the sky produces a palette of intense colours, putting on a beautiful show for observers. These colours can only be seen with such depth from sites such as Paranal, where the atmosphere is extraordinarily pure. Looking to the west, over the Pacific Ocean, the sunset sky turns bright orange and red. However, this photograph shows the view to the east instead, looking away from the Sun after it has just set. The grey-bluish shadow above the horizon is the shadow of our own planet. Above this is a pinkish glow known as the "Belt of Venus", a phenomenon produced by the reddened light of the setting Sun being backscattered by the Earth's atmosphere.
In the centre of the image is the fourth 8.2-metre Unit Telescope (UT4), part of the VLT. The Mapuche name given to UT4 is Yepun, which means Venus. As well as working as individual telescopes, groups of two or three UTs can combine their light using a technique called interferometry, which allows astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than with the individual telescopes. The VLT also has four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs), housed in ultra-compact mobile enclosures, which are fully dedicated to interferometric observations. Two of the ATs are visible in the background, with a third mostly hidden. The yellow frame-like structure in front of Yepun is the "M1 Lifting Platform", used when the giant 8.2-metre primary mirror (M1) of the telescope is periodically recoated. The delicate mirror and its support structure, which together weigh 45 tonnes, are removed from the telescope enclosure and slowly driven about two kilometres to a maintenance building at the Paranal base camp. This process is, unsurprisingly, performed with the utmost care.Español: Antes de que caiga otra noche clara y estrellada sobre el Observatorio Paranal de ESO, hogar del Very Large Telescope (VLT), el cielo produce una paleta de intensos colores, exhibiendo un bello espectáculo para los observadores. Estos colores sólo pueden ser vistos con esta profundidad desde locaciones tales como Paranal, donde la atmósfera es extraordinariamente pura. Mirando hacia el oeste, sobre el Oceano Pacífico, el cielo de la puesta de Sol se vuelve naranja y rojo brillante. Sin embargo, en este caso, la fotografía mira hacia el Este, dando la espalda al Sol después de que se acaba de poner. La sombra gris-azulada sobre el horizonte es la sombra de nuestro propio planeta. Sobre ésta hay un brillo rosado conocido como el Cinturón de Venus, un fenómeno producido por la luz enrojecida de la puesta del Sol que es retroiluminada por la atmósfera de la Tierra.
En el centro de la fotografía está la cuarta Unidad de Telescopio (UT4) de 8,2 metros, parte del VLT. El nombre mapuche dado a UT4 es Yepun, que significa Venus. Tal como trabajan como telescopios individuales, grupos de dos o tres UTs pueden combinar su luz, usando una técnica llamada interferometría, que permite a los astrónomos ver detalles hasta 25 veces más finos que con telescopios individuales. El VLT también tiene cuatro Telescopios Auxiliares (ATs) de 1,8 metros, alojados en cúpulas móviles ultra compactas, que están totalmente dedicados a observaciones interferométricas. Dos de los ATs se ven en el fondo, con un tercio escondido. La estructura amarilla semejante a un marco al frente de Yepun es la Plataforma Izadora M1, usada cuando el gigantesco espejo primario del telescopio (M1) de 8,2 metros es periódicamente recubierto. El delicado espejo y su estructura de soporte, que juntos pesan 45 toneladas, son sacados de la cúpula del telescopio y lentamente transportados unos dos kilómetros a un edificio de mantención en el campamento base de Paranal. Este delicado proceso es realizado con el mayor cuidado. |
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| Source | http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1102a/ |
| Author | ESO/José Francisco Salgado |
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Their website states: "Unless specifically noted, the images, videos, and music distributed on the public ESO website, along with the texts of press releases, announcements, pictures of the week, blog posts and captions, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, and may on a non-exclusive basis be reproduced without fee provided the credit is clear and visible." To the uploader: You must provide a link (URL) to the original file and the authorship information if available. |
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