L’aria dell’Antartide visita il Paranal
Questo magnifico panorama dell’osservatorio Paranal di ESO risale al 5 luglio 2012 e segna uno dei giorni più secchi mai registrati al complesso del Very Large Telescope. Paranal appare come un’isola nel mezzo dell’immagine, con nuvole massicce che galleggiano sopra l'Oceano Pacifico in lontananza.
L’umidità estremamente bassa di Paranal durante questo periodo fu registrata da un radiometrodi vapore acqueo, chiamato LHATPRO, che segue l’andamento dell’atmosfera per aiutare le osservazioni compiute all’osservatorio [1]. I meteorologi di due università cilene hanno identificato la causa di queste condizioni inusualmente secche in correnti d'aria dell’Antartide ad alta quota che si muovono verso il nord e scendono verso Paranal.
Questo fronte freddo è rimasto attorno a Paranal per circa 12 ore, causando un livello bassissimo di umidità dell’aria attorno all’osservatorio [2]. Florian Kerber (ESO) e i suoi colleghi hanno analizzato questo situazione inusuale e hanno pubblicato i risultati nella rivista Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society del 29 Gennaio 2014, disponibile qui.
Dunque, un deserto secco… che cosa c’è di così speciale? In realtà la siccità di questa magnitudine accade di solito a quote molto più alte, per esempio all’osservatorio di ALMA sull’altipiano di Chajnantor, che si trova a 5000 metri sopra il livello del mare - i 2635 metri, l’altitudine di Paranal, sono circa la meta di questo. Dato che le osservazioni infrarosse possono essere fatte al meglio quando c’è pochissimo vapore acqueo nell’aria, un controllo regolare con il radiometer LHATPRO potrebbe dare agli astronomi l’opportunità di sfruttare futuri momenti di siccità a Paranal per ottenere stupende osservazioni infrarosse dell’universo attorno a noi.
Questa fotografia è stata ripresa dall'ambasciatore fotografo dell'ESO Gabriel Brammer, che per caso era presente al tramonto appena prima di questo periodo secco. Egli lo trovò straordinariamente chiaro e magnifico. Gabriel lavora come astronomo all’osservatorio La Silla - Paranal dell’ESO. Quando non fornisce un supporto alle osservazioni dell’osservatorio, studia la formazione e l’evoluzione delle galassie distanti usando i telescopi e gli strumenti più sofisticati al mondo, incluso il Very Large Telescope di ESO e l’Hubble Space Telescope.
Note
[1] Il radiometro Low Humidity and Temperature Profiling (LHATPRO) costruito da Radiometer Physics GmbH in Germania, usa forte righe spettrali di alcuni elementi chimici per misurare il contenuto in acqua dell’atmosfera.
[2] L’umidità è misurata nella forma di precipitable water vapour- una misura di contenuto atmosferico d’acqua. È la quantità totale di acqua in una colonna di atmosfera se si trasformarsse tutta in pioggia. In questo caso solo 0.1 mm di precipitable water vapour è stata misurata - molto meno che il solito (già basso) valore di 2 mm a Paranal.
Crediti:ESO/G. Brammer
Acknowledgement: F. Kerber (ESO)
A proposito dell'immagine
| Identificazione: | potw1405a |
| Lingua: | it |
| Tipo: | Fotografico |
| Data di pubblicazione: | Lunedì 03 Febbraio 2014 10:00 |
| Dimensione: | 16000 x 6661 px |
| Field of View: | 360° x 149.9° |
A proposito delll'oggetto
| Nome: | Cerro Paranal |
| Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology : Observatory |
Formati delle immagini
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