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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Сириус, Солнце, Луна и Южный Крест http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1166661/eng |
Credit & Copyright: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Explanation:
From left to right are the enclosures of
Yepun (ye-poon; Sirius),
Antu (an-too; Sun),
Kueyen (qua-yen; Moon),
and Melipal (me-li-pal; Southern Cross),
pictured here as
night falls at Paranal Observatory
in northern Chile.
These are the four 8.2 meter wide telescope units of the
European Southern Observatory's
Very Large Telescope (VLT).
ESO astronomers and engineers plan to
combine the light of
the individual units, achieving an equivalent
aperture
of 16.4 meters which will,
for a while,
constitue
the biggest telescope on
planet Earth.
Of course,
the individual telescopes also function independently.
Antu, Kueyen, and Melipal have already achieved first light with
Yepun expected to operate in 2001.
The telescope
names
come from the Mapuche
language.
They were unanimously chosen based on
the winning "name-the-telescopes" essay by 17-year old
Jorssy Albanez Castilla from
Chuquicamata near the city of Calama.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.