ALMA's gat in het universum
De gebeurtenissen ten tijde van de oerknal waren zo catastrofaal dat ze een onuitwisbare stempel achterlieten op de samenstelling van de kosmos. Tegenwoordig kunnen we deze littekens opsporen door het oudste licht in het heelal te observeren. Aangezien het bijna 14 miljard jaar geleden ontstond, heeft dit licht – dat nu bestaat uit zwakke elektromagnetische straling en bijgevolg de kosmische achtergrondstraling genoemd wordt -- zich nu zodanig uitgebreid dat het zich over de gehele kosmos verspreid heeft en het heelal met detecteerbare fotonen vult.
De kosmische achtergrondstraling kan aangewend worden om de kosmos door middel van het Sunyaev-Zel’dovich-effect (SZE) te onderzoeken. Dit effect werd meer dan 30 jaar geleden voor het eerst geobserveerd. De kosmische achtergrondstraling kan hier op aarde waargenomen worden wanneer de elektromagnetische fotonen waaruit de straling is opgebouwd doorheen de ruimte naar ons toe reizen. Op hun weg naar ons toe gaan ze soms door clusters van sterrenstelsels heen die sterk geladen elektronen bevatten. Deze elektronen geven de fotonen een kleine boost van energie. De detectie van deze fotonen door onze telescopen is moeilijk maar belangrijk – ze kunnen astronomen helpen om enkele van de fundamentele eigenschappen van het heelal te begrijpen, zoals de locatie en verspreiding van compacte groepen van sterrenstelsels.
Deze afbeelding toont de eerste metingen van het thermische Sunyaev-Zel’dovich-effect door de Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chili. Astronomen voegden de gegevens van de 7-meter en 12-meter antennes van ALMA samen om een zo scherp mogelijke opname te bekomen. Het onderzoeksobject was een van de zwaarste clusters die er bekend zijn, RX J1347.5-1145, waarvan het centrum zich op de ALMA-waarnemingen in het donkere “gat” bevindt. De energieverdeling van de fotonen in de kosmische achtergrondstraling verschuift en verschijnt als een temperatuurdaling op de door ALMA waargenomen golflengte, vandaar dat op deze afbeelding een donkere vlek kan waargenomen worden op de plaats van de cluster.
Links
Credit:ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/T. Kitayama (Toho University, Japan)/ESA/Hubble & NASA
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | potw1708a |
| Taal: | nl-be |
| Type: | Observatie |
| Publicatiedatum: | 20 februari 2017 06:00 |
| Grootte: | 3816 x 3559 px |
Over het object
| Type: | Early Universe : Cosmology |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 13 47 30.65 |
| Position (Dec): | -11° 45' 18.95" |
| Field of view: | 1.91 x 1.78 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 130.7° right of vertical |
Kleuren & filters
| Band | Golflengte | Telescoop |
|---|---|---|
| Millimeter 92 GHz | 3.258613 mm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 3 |
| Optisch g | 475 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch B | 435 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch V | 606 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch r | 625 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch i | 775 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch z | 850 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Infrarood J | 1.1 μm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Infrarood H short | 1.6 μm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optisch I | 814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Infrarood J | 1.1 μm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
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