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Credit & Copyright: Petr
Horálek /
ESO
Explanation:
Of course
this little planet is really planet Earth
in a digitally stitched 360 x 180 degree mosaic
captured high in the Chilean Atacama desert.
The seemingly large domes house the 1-meter diameter
telescopes of the
SPECULOOS Southern Observatory.
With a name creatively inspired by a sweet biscuit treat,
the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets
EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars)
telescopes really are hunting for little planets.
Their mission is to search for the telltale dimming that indicates the
transit
of terrestrial exoplanets
around the population
of nearby, tiny, dim, ultracool stars.
On the not-so-distant horizon, adaptive optics
laser beams are firing
from ESO's mountain top Paranal Observatory.
The central Milky Way and Magellanic clouds also shine in
this little
planet's night sky.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day