First Light for SPHERE Exoplanet Imager b4in.org/p4RQ The European SPHERE instrument has been successfully installed on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and has achieved first light. This powerful new facility can directly image gas-giant exoplanets and dust discs orbiting nearby stars (up to 300 light years away) with unparalleled precision and contrast. SPHERE images the dust ring around the star HR 4796A This infrared image shows the dust ring around the nearby star HR 4796A in the southern constellation Centaurus. It was one of the very first images produced by SPHERE, shortly after it was mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in May 2014. It reveals SPHERE’s remarkable ability to reduce the glare from this very bright star—the key to finding and studying exoplanets in the near future. During its first light observations, SPHERE validated its various observation modes and captured unprecedented images, demonstrating its impressive ability to suppress the glare of the bright star at the center of the image. SPHERE (the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch) instrument was developed by a European consortium. More with more photos b4in.org/p4RQ
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 21:19:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015