File:VLT Auxiliary Telescope open for observations (potw1137a).tif
Original file (3,871 × 2,578 pixels, file size: 14.44 MB, MIME type: image/tiff)
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionVLT Auxiliary Telescope open for observations (potw1137a).tif |
English: Deep in the heart of the Atacama Desert, home of the Paranal Observatory, the Sun is setting at the start of another clear night. This charming photograph, taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Gianluca Lombardi shows one of four Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) that belong to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) sitting boldly against a vivid sky of pink and blue. The full Moon, seen hovering over the horizon, has a distinctly reddish hue, a phenomenon caused by the scattering of light by Earth’s atmosphere.
When the Moon is close to the horizon, the light we see from it must travel through a greater thickness of the atmosphere, so the effects of scattering are increased. As red light is more resilient to scattering than green or blue, our view of the Moon is reddened. As it happens, the reddening effect is somewhat less pronounced at sites like Paranal, as the clear air contains fewer particles that cause scattering. In addition to this, Paranal’s isolated location, far from civilisation and hence sources of light pollution, makes it a perfect place for ground-based astronomy. The 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes are integral to the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). Whereas the Unit Telescopes are very often engaged in independent activities, the ATs devote all their time to the interferometer. One advantage of this is that the ATs can be used for regular, long-term monitoring observations, which allow exceptionally precise measurements to be made of object positions; this is known as the Narrow Angle Astrometry mode of the VLTI. The ATs telescopes are mobile and able to relocate between 30 different observing positions. By utilising the entire Paranal platform this way, a separation of 202 metres between ATs is possible — the longest baseline of the VLTI. |
Date | |
Source | https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1137a/ |
Author | ESO/G. Lombardi (glphoto.it) |
Licensing
[edit]This media was created by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
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. | |
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Attribution: ESO/G. Lombardi (glphoto.it)
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 01:39, 1 June 2021 | 3,871 × 2,578 (14.44 MB) | Huntster (talk | contribs) | == {{int:filedesc}} == {{Information |Description={{en|1=Deep in the heart of the Atacama Desert, home of the Paranal Observatory, the Sun is setting at the start of another clear night. This charming photograph, taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Gianluca Lombardi shows one of four Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) that belong to ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) sitting boldly against a vivid sky of pink and blue. The full Moon, seen hovering over the horizon, has a distinctly reddish hue, a phenomenon... |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Width | 3,871 px |
---|---|
Height | 2,578 px |
Bits per component |
|
Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Number of rows per strip | 22 |
Horizontal resolution | 72 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 72 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
File change date and time | 10:13, 21 January 2011 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |