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APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 4:05 am
by APOD Robot
3 ATs
Explanation: Despite their resemblance to
R2D2, these three are not the droids you're looking for. Instead, the enclosures house 1.8 meter
Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) at Paranal Observatory in the
Atacama Desert region of Chile. The ATs are designed to be used
for interferometry, a technique for achieving extremely high resolution observations, in concert with the observatory's 8 meter
Very Large Telescope units. A total of four ATs are operational, each fitted with a transporter
that moves the telescope along a track allowing different arrays with the large unit telescopes. To work as an interferometer, the light from each telescope is brought to a common focal point by a system of mirrors in underground tunnels. Above these three ATs, the Large and Small
Magellanic Clouds are the far, far away satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way. In the clear and otherwise dark southern skies, planet Earth's greenish atmospheric
airglow stretches faintly along the horizon.
Re: APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 4:07 pm
by johnnydeep
I searched in vain on the ESO site for an annotated overall map of the VLTI facility but came up empty. But google was my friend. Sadly though, the - much! - smaller R2D2-like ATs on their tracks aren't labeled, but are clear to see in the lower parts of the photo:
And here's an actual aerial view:
And finally, here's an aerial close-up from google maps:
Observatorio Paranal, Very Large Telescope, Taltal, Antofagasta, Chile
Re: APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 5:51 pm
by MelvzLuster
The 3ATs are certainly an advantage for us who keep on looking for new pictures of the infinity of the Cosmos. It is also fascinating that our beautiful Earth will not be destroyed but only be transformed into a New Earth just like other planets like Mars to be terraformed.
Re: APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 7:17 pm
by Ann
MelvzLuster wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2024 5:51 pm
The 3ATs are certainly an advantage for us who keep on looking for new pictures of the infinity of the Cosmos. It is also fascinating that our beautiful Earth will not be destroyed but only be transformed into a New Earth just like other planets like Mars to be terraformed.
Well, your title certainly sounds impressive. You were a NASA's Space Commander-Engineer for USS Victory NCC 1967? Impressive indeed.
But what you said about the Earth being transformed into a New Earth sure sounds like religion to me, not science. And Starship Asterisk* is not a forum for religion.
Ann
Re: APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 8:18 pm
by johnnydeep
Ann wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2024 7:17 pm
MelvzLuster wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2024 5:51 pm
The 3ATs are certainly an advantage for us who keep on looking for new pictures of the infinity of the Cosmos. It is also fascinating that our beautiful Earth will not be destroyed but only be transformed into a New Earth just like other planets like Mars to be terraformed.
Well, your title certainly sounds impressive. You were a NASA's Space Commander-Engineer for USS Victory NCC 1967? Impressive indeed.
But what you said about the Earth being transformed into a New Earth sure sounds like religion to me, not science. And Starship Asterisk* is not a forum for religion.
Ann
Ha, I thought that ship was real! But it's a starship! See
https://www.ussvictory-ncc1967.com
Re: APOD: 3 ATs (2024 May 04)
Posted: Sat May 04, 2024 8:33 pm
by VictorBorun
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2024 4:07 pm
I searched in vain on the ESO site for an annotated overall map of the VLTI facility but came up empty. But google was my friend. Sadly though, the - much! - smaller R2D2-like ATs on their tracks aren't labeled, but are clear to see in the lower parts of the photo:
And here's an actual aerial view:
And finally, here's an aerial close-up from google maps:
Observatorio Paranal, Very Large Telescope, Taltal, Antofagasta, Chile
those underground corridors to join the light from 4 telescopes and achieve what only radio-astronomy's arrays could is a wow.
They say this thing can measure the diameter of Proxima Centauri…