MPIA News
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April 12, 2013, 11:00 am
Bringing the telescope jitters under control: A unique service at the LBT
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Large mechanical structures such as the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham in Arizona are susceptible to vibrations. As the telescope is moved, but also as it is influenced by wind, the structure begins to oscillate slightly. Yet even very slight vibrations can jeopardize one of the LBT's key objectives: to combine the two 8.4m primary mirrors on the LBT mount to act like a single, much larger telescope. In this mode, achieved by what is called interferometry, the LBT could discern details otherwise accessible only to a telescope with a giant 23 meter mirror. Structural vibrations can all but spoil the interferometric combination, severely limiting the achievable resolution, and leading to a substantial loss of detail ...
>> Full version with images
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February 26, 2013, 2:30 pm
Blazing the Trail for a Binocular Telescope: Pathfinder arrives
at Mt. Graham
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The mere fact that the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona features two 8,4 meter diameter mirrors on a single mount is impressive enough. But this telescope is designed to be so much more: With the help of the LINC-NIRVANA instrument currently being assembled at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), the two mirrors will be linked to act like a single, much larger telescope. The resulting "interferometer" will be able to image details that would otherwise only be accessible with a (single) telescope with a 23-meter mirror ...
>> Full version with images |
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February 2, 2013, 12:00 am
Andromeda in a new light
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NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" for February 2, 2013, is an infrared image of the Andromeda galaxy, by the Herschel Space Telescope. The image is part of a program led by Oliver Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA).
Krause said: "MPIA contributed to the construction of the PACS instrument on the Herschel space telescope. In return, we were allowed guaranteed observation time, part of which we used for these observations of the Andromeda galaxy. For us, this observation was an absolute must-have: Andromeda is the closest spiral galaxy to our own, and Herschel can show in detail which regions of Andromeda are currently forming new stars. This data set is bound to be part of Herschel's long-term legacy – 20 years from now, astronomers will still be using it in their analyses." |
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The Herschel Space Telescope itself only has about one month of observation time left. It is gradually running out of coolant, which is a necessary prerequisite for infrared observations.
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January 23, 2013, 12:00 am
New APEX image of interstellar clouds in Orion
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The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has just released spectacular new images of a region near the reflection nebula NGC 1999 in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which includes data from the submillimeter telescope APEX. The team of astronomers who made these observations includes MPIA's Amy Stutz, who was involved in the scientific analysis of the data. Stutz comments: "These APEX images just amaze me; across Orion they reveal with stunning clarity the very dense and cold dust that stars are born from."
The images and further information can be found on the ESO webpages at
http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1304
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Verantwortlich / Responsible: Axel M. Quetz
Letzte Änderung / Last update: 12. April 2013 |
