Andrew Yee[_1_]
May 28th 08, 05:21 PM
ESO Education and Public Relations Dept.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Text with all links and the photos are available on the ESO Website at URL:
http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2008/pr-17-08.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contacts
Dr. Henri Boffin
ESO Press Officer
Phone: +49 89 3200 6222
Valentina Rodriguez
ESO Press Officer in Chile
Phone: +56 2 463 3123
For Immediate Release: 27 May 2008
ESO Press Photo 17/08
The Little Man and the Cosmic Cauldron
VLT images two nebulae in Carina
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Very Large Telescope's First
Light, ESO is releasing two stunning images of different kinds of nebulae,
located towards the Carina constellation. The first one, Eta Carinae, has
the shape of a 'little man' and surrounds a star doomed to explode within
the next 100 000 years. The second image features a much larger nebula,
whose internal turmoil is created by a cluster of young, massive stars.
Being brighter than one million Suns, Eta Carinae is the most luminous star
known in the Galaxy. It is the closest example of a luminous blue variable,
the last phase in the life of a very massive star before it explodes in a
fiery supernova.
Eta Carinae is surrounded by an expanding bipolar cloud of dust and gas
known as the Homunculus ('little man' in Latin), which astronomers believe
was expelled from the star during a great outburst seen in 1843 [1].
Eta Carinae was one of the first objects to be imaged during First Light
with ESO's VLT, 10 years ago. At the time, the image obtained with a test
camera already showed the unique capabilities of the European flagship
telescope for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy, as well as of its
unique location on the mountain of Paranal. The image had a resolution of
0.38 arcseconds.
The new, recently obtained image reveals even more, with a resolution a
factor of 6 to 7 times better. It was obtained with the NACO near-infrared
instrument on Yepun, Unit Telescope 4 of the VLT. NACO is an adaptive optics
instrument, which means that it can correct for the blurring effect of the
atmosphere. And looking at the image, the power of adaptive optics is clear.
The image quality is as though the whole 8.2-m telescope had been launched
into space [2].
When viewed through the eyepiece of a small telescope, the Homunculus may
indeed resemble a little man, but the astounding NACO image clearly shows a
bipolar structure. Also very well resolved is the fine structure of the jets
coming out from the central star.
Last year, the Very Large Telescope Interferometer also studied Eta Carinae
in great detail and provided invaluable information about the stellar wind
of Eta Carinae (see ESO 06/07).
The second image was obtained with the ISAAC infrared imager on Antu, Unit
Telescope 1.
Located 9 000 light-years away, i.e. farther away than Eta Carinae, NGC 3576
is also in the direction of the southern Carina constellation. NGC 3576 is
about 100 light-years across, that is, 25 times larger than the distance
between the Sun and its closest neighbouring star.
This intriguing nebula is a gigantic region of glowing gas, where stars are
currently forming. The intense radiation and winds from the massive stars
are shredding the clouds from which they form, creating dramatic scenery. It
is estimated that the nebula is about 1.5 million year old, the blink of an
eye on cosmological timescales.
Astronomers from the University of Cologne [3], Germany, have studied this
region with ESO's Very Large Telescope and ISAAC to determine the proportion
of stars still having a protoplanetary disc from which planets form. Looking
at young regions of different ages, the astronomers hope to estimate the
lifetime of protoplanetary discs and thereby better understand how planets
form. In particular, the scientists are interested in looking at the effect
of the strong radiation of the stars, as well as of stellar encounters in
these dense regions, on the survival of the discs.
Notes
[1] In fact, since the distance to Eta Carinae is about 7500 light-years,
the eruption must have taken place about 7700 years ago.
[2] Given the large size of each Unit Telescope of the VLT, the resolution
achievable when using adaptive optics (the 'diffraction limit') is as good
in the longer near-infrared wavelengths, where NACO observes, as what the
HST can achieve in the visible. The resolution is indeed close to 0.05
arcseconds, ten times better than what one can typically obtain without
adaptive optics on an excellent site. A resolution of 0.05 arcseconds
corresponds to being able to read a book 10 km away.
[3] The astronomers are C. Olczak, R. Schodel, S. Pfalzner, and A. Eckart.
National contacts for the media:
Belgium: Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez, +32-2-474 70 50
Czech Republic: Pavel Suchan, +420 267 103 040
Denmark: Dr. Michael Linden-Vornle, +45-33-18 19 97
Finland: Ms. Riitta Tirronen, +358 9 7748 8369
France: Dr. Daniel Kunth, +33-1-44 32 80 85
Germany: Dr. Jakob Staude, +49-6221-528229
Italy: Dr. Leopoldo Benacchio, +39-347-230 26 51
The Netherlands: Dr. Marieke Baan, +31-20-525 74 80
Portugal: Prof. Teresa Lago, +351-22-089 833
Spain: Dr. Miguel Mas-Hesse, +34918131196
Sweden: Dr. Jesper Sollerman, +46-8-55 37 85 54
Switzerland: Dr. Martin Steinacher, +41-31-324 23 82
United Kingdom: Mr. Peter Barratt, +44-1793-44 20 25
USA: Dr. Paola Rebusco, +1-617-308-2397
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESO Press Information is available on Receive email notification
the WWW at about important news from
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/ ESO - subscribe to the
ESO-NEWS Mailing List.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright ESO Education & Public Relations Department
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Text with all links and the photos are available on the ESO Website at URL:
http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2008/pr-17-08.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contacts
Dr. Henri Boffin
ESO Press Officer
Phone: +49 89 3200 6222
Valentina Rodriguez
ESO Press Officer in Chile
Phone: +56 2 463 3123
For Immediate Release: 27 May 2008
ESO Press Photo 17/08
The Little Man and the Cosmic Cauldron
VLT images two nebulae in Carina
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Very Large Telescope's First
Light, ESO is releasing two stunning images of different kinds of nebulae,
located towards the Carina constellation. The first one, Eta Carinae, has
the shape of a 'little man' and surrounds a star doomed to explode within
the next 100 000 years. The second image features a much larger nebula,
whose internal turmoil is created by a cluster of young, massive stars.
Being brighter than one million Suns, Eta Carinae is the most luminous star
known in the Galaxy. It is the closest example of a luminous blue variable,
the last phase in the life of a very massive star before it explodes in a
fiery supernova.
Eta Carinae is surrounded by an expanding bipolar cloud of dust and gas
known as the Homunculus ('little man' in Latin), which astronomers believe
was expelled from the star during a great outburst seen in 1843 [1].
Eta Carinae was one of the first objects to be imaged during First Light
with ESO's VLT, 10 years ago. At the time, the image obtained with a test
camera already showed the unique capabilities of the European flagship
telescope for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy, as well as of its
unique location on the mountain of Paranal. The image had a resolution of
0.38 arcseconds.
The new, recently obtained image reveals even more, with a resolution a
factor of 6 to 7 times better. It was obtained with the NACO near-infrared
instrument on Yepun, Unit Telescope 4 of the VLT. NACO is an adaptive optics
instrument, which means that it can correct for the blurring effect of the
atmosphere. And looking at the image, the power of adaptive optics is clear.
The image quality is as though the whole 8.2-m telescope had been launched
into space [2].
When viewed through the eyepiece of a small telescope, the Homunculus may
indeed resemble a little man, but the astounding NACO image clearly shows a
bipolar structure. Also very well resolved is the fine structure of the jets
coming out from the central star.
Last year, the Very Large Telescope Interferometer also studied Eta Carinae
in great detail and provided invaluable information about the stellar wind
of Eta Carinae (see ESO 06/07).
The second image was obtained with the ISAAC infrared imager on Antu, Unit
Telescope 1.
Located 9 000 light-years away, i.e. farther away than Eta Carinae, NGC 3576
is also in the direction of the southern Carina constellation. NGC 3576 is
about 100 light-years across, that is, 25 times larger than the distance
between the Sun and its closest neighbouring star.
This intriguing nebula is a gigantic region of glowing gas, where stars are
currently forming. The intense radiation and winds from the massive stars
are shredding the clouds from which they form, creating dramatic scenery. It
is estimated that the nebula is about 1.5 million year old, the blink of an
eye on cosmological timescales.
Astronomers from the University of Cologne [3], Germany, have studied this
region with ESO's Very Large Telescope and ISAAC to determine the proportion
of stars still having a protoplanetary disc from which planets form. Looking
at young regions of different ages, the astronomers hope to estimate the
lifetime of protoplanetary discs and thereby better understand how planets
form. In particular, the scientists are interested in looking at the effect
of the strong radiation of the stars, as well as of stellar encounters in
these dense regions, on the survival of the discs.
Notes
[1] In fact, since the distance to Eta Carinae is about 7500 light-years,
the eruption must have taken place about 7700 years ago.
[2] Given the large size of each Unit Telescope of the VLT, the resolution
achievable when using adaptive optics (the 'diffraction limit') is as good
in the longer near-infrared wavelengths, where NACO observes, as what the
HST can achieve in the visible. The resolution is indeed close to 0.05
arcseconds, ten times better than what one can typically obtain without
adaptive optics on an excellent site. A resolution of 0.05 arcseconds
corresponds to being able to read a book 10 km away.
[3] The astronomers are C. Olczak, R. Schodel, S. Pfalzner, and A. Eckart.
National contacts for the media:
Belgium: Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez, +32-2-474 70 50
Czech Republic: Pavel Suchan, +420 267 103 040
Denmark: Dr. Michael Linden-Vornle, +45-33-18 19 97
Finland: Ms. Riitta Tirronen, +358 9 7748 8369
France: Dr. Daniel Kunth, +33-1-44 32 80 85
Germany: Dr. Jakob Staude, +49-6221-528229
Italy: Dr. Leopoldo Benacchio, +39-347-230 26 51
The Netherlands: Dr. Marieke Baan, +31-20-525 74 80
Portugal: Prof. Teresa Lago, +351-22-089 833
Spain: Dr. Miguel Mas-Hesse, +34918131196
Sweden: Dr. Jesper Sollerman, +46-8-55 37 85 54
Switzerland: Dr. Martin Steinacher, +41-31-324 23 82
United Kingdom: Mr. Peter Barratt, +44-1793-44 20 25
USA: Dr. Paola Rebusco, +1-617-308-2397
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESO Press Information is available on Receive email notification
the WWW at about important news from
http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/ ESO - subscribe to the
ESO-NEWS Mailing List.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright ESO Education & Public Relations Department
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany
----------------------------------------------------------------------------