File:Guiding the Milky Way (potw2222a).tiff
Original file (6,048 × 4,024 pixels, file size: 42.76 MB, MIME type: image/tiff)
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Summary
editDescriptionGuiding the Milky Way (potw2222a).tiff |
English: This picture of the week shows four powerful laser beams leaving Unit Telescope 4, or ‘Yepun’, at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile’s Atacama desert. These form the VLT’s 4 Laser Guide Star Facility, which enables astronomers to take extremely crisp images of the cosmos by employing a technology known as adaptive optics.Using adaptive optics, telescopes are able to correct for the effects of atmospheric turbulence, which causes the “twinkling” and blurring of stars and other objects in the sky. To do this, a deformable mirror reshapes itself up to 1000 times per second based on the observed turbulence. Astronomers measure turbulence by monitoring a bright star in the field of view. If there isn’t a suitable star, they create artificial stars in the Earth’s upper atmosphere using lasers. The lasers in this image have a very specific orange-yellow colour (with a wavelength of 589 nm), exciting sodium atoms about 90 km above ground, causing them to shine like a star.In the backdrop, almost appearing to follow the path of the laser beams, is the familiar band of the Milky Way stretching across the sky. Also visible is a faint green wash in the sky that results from a phenomenon known as airglow, which is light naturally emitted by atoms and molecules in the atmosphere. Airglow is only visible in areas where the sky is dark enough not to be overshadowed by light pollution. |
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Date | 30 May 2022 (upload date) | ||
Source |
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Author | ESO/A. Ghizzi Panizza (www.albertoghizzipanizza.com) | ||
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Licensing
editThis 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.
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 15:22, 9 August 2023 | 6,048 × 4,024 (42.76 MB) | OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs) | #Spacemedia - Upload of https://cdn.eso.org/images/original/potw2222a.tif via Commons:Spacemedia |
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Metadata
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Camera manufacturer | NIKON CORPORATION |
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Camera model | NIKON Z 6 |
Author | Alberto Ghizzi Panizza |
Copyright holder | Alberto Ghizzi Panizza |
Exposure time | 30/1 sec (30) |
ISO speed rating | 2,500 |
Date and time of data generation | 01:38, 29 April 2019 |
Width | 6,048 px |
Height | 4,024 px |
Bits per component |
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Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Number of rows per strip | 14 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop 21.1 (Windows) |
File change date and time | 15:01, 15 January 2021 |
Exposure Program | Manual |
Exif version | 2.31 |
Date and time of digitizing | 01:38, 29 April 2019 |
APEX shutter speed | −4.906891 |
APEX exposure bias | 0.33333333333333 |
Metering mode | Center weighted average |
Light source | Unknown |
Flash | Flash did not fire |
DateTimeOriginal subseconds | 47 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |
Focal plane X resolution | 1,683.0665283203 |
Focal plane Y resolution | 1,683.0665283203 |
Focal plane resolution unit | 3 |
Sensing method | One-chip color area sensor |
File source | Digital still camera |
Scene type | A directly photographed image |
Custom image processing | Custom process |
Exposure mode | Manual exposure |
White balance | Manual white balance |
Scene capture type | Standard |
Scene control | Low gain up |
Contrast | Normal |
Saturation | Normal |
Sharpness | Normal |
Subject distance range | Unknown |