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Observatoires et télescopes spatiaux

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In this panoramic image taken by Babak Tafreshi — a member of the ESO Ultra HD Expedition team — the ALMA Observatory’s antennas appear to take in the sight of the Milky Way, arching like a galactic rainbow of dust and stars over the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes. Located 5000 metres above sea level, the Chajnantor Plateau serves as an ideal hunting ground for ALMA. The array uses observations at the millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths to explore the coldest parts of the Universe. The superb aridness of the plateau means that far less submillimetre radiation is absorbed and attenuated by water vapour than would be the case closer to sea level. As ALMA seeks to capture the secrets of the Universe, Babak Tafreshi and his fellow team members seek to capture the beauty and grandeur of ESO’s observatories and their unusual surroundings. Comprising four celebrated astrophotographers and ESO Photo Ambassadors, the ESO Ultra HD expedition aimed to raise public awareness of the ongoing work in Chile through astonishing Ultra HD photos and videos.
This artist’s rendering shows a night view of the Extremely Large Telescope in operation on Cerro Armazones in northern Chile. The telescope is shown using lasers to create artificial stars high in the atmosphere. The first stone ceremony for the telescope was attended by the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, on 26 May 2017.
In this picture, our home galaxy the Milky Way stretches across the sky above the landscape of the Chilean Andes. In the foreground, the roads of ESO’s La Silla Observatory are packed with state-of-the-art astronomical telescopes pointing towards, and far beyond, the Milky Way. Several multinational telescopes are captured in this frame. The ESO 3.6-metre telescope stands on the central pedestal and is mounted with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) — the best exoplanet finder on Earth. Just next to the main dome, the smaller one once hosted the Coudé Auxiliary Telescope (CAT) which used to feed the powerful Coudé Echelle Spectrograph; they are now both decommissioned. At the foot of this pedestal lies the French Rapid Action Telescope for Transient Objects (TAROT) which follows up on highly energetic events called gamma-ray bursts. These are also studied by the Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope in the dome on the left, but its focus lies on the search for exoplanets. Further out in the right, one can spot the Swedish–ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) that was decommissioned in 2003 and replaced by the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope (APEX) on the Chajnantor Plateau. A map of all the La Silla facilities can be found here. The high density of instruments on the roads of La Silla shows how desirable this location is for astronomical observations. It is far from brightly lit cities — the dramatic effect of dim brake lights of a single car can be seen on the left — and lies at a high altitude. This image was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador, Babak Tafreshi.
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Sunset is typically a sign that another working day is over. City lights are slowly switched on as people return home eager to enjoy the evening and a good night’s sleep. However, this does not apply to astronomers working at an observatory such as ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Observing starts as soon as the Sun has disappeared below the horizon. Everything needs to be ready before dusk. This panoramic photograph captures the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) against a beautiful twilight on Cerro Paranal. The enclosures of the VLT stand out in the picture as the telescopes in them are readied for a night of studying the Universe. The VLT is the world’s most powerful advanced optical telescope, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with primary mirrors 8.2 metres in diameter and four movable 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs), which can be seen in the left corner of the image. The telescopes can also work together as a single giant telescope, the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), which allows astronomers to observe the finest possible detail. This configuration is only used for a limited number of nights per year. Most of the time, the 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes are used individually. Over the past 13 years, the VLT has had a huge impact on observational astronomy. With the advent of the VLT, the European astronomical community has experienced a new age of discoveries, most notably, the tracking of the stars orbiting the Milky Way’s central black hole and the first image of an extrasolar planet, which are two of the top three of ESO’s Top 10 Astronomical Discoveries. The VLT’s four Unit Telescopes are named after celestial objects in Mapuche, which is an ancient native language of the indigenous people of Chile and Argentina. From left to right, we have Antu (UT1; the Sun), Kueyen (UT2; the Moon), Melipal (UT3; the Southern Cross) and Yepun (UT4; Venus). This photograph was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador, Babak Tafreshi. This image is avail

Crédits : B.Tafreshi/ESO/Nasa

Dans ce module d’une durée d’une heure et demi de présentation suivie de 30 minutes de questions/réponses, nous explorerons ces merveilles de la science observationnelle, depuis la Terre et de l’espace.

 

De Stonehenge (entre et

Pendant des millénaires, les techniques ont évoluées et les observations dans les différentes longueurs d’ondes assemblent brique par brique notre compréhension de l’univers visible et invisible.

Les télescopes spatiaux “d’observations” contribuent également  à compléter nos connaissances H24, 7j/7.

 

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