Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Apr 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999eso..pres....7.&link_type=abstract
ESO Press Release, 04/1999
Computer Science
Performance
Scientific paper
Visitors at ANTU - Astronomical Images from KUEYEN
The VLT Control Room at the Paranal Observatory is becoming a busy place indeed.
From here, two specialist teams of ESO astronomers and engineers now operate two VLT 8.2-m Unit Telescopes in parallel, ANTU and KUEYEN (formerly UT1 and UT2, for more information about the naming and the pronunciation, see ESO Press Release 06/99 ). Regular science observations have just started with the first of these giant telescopes, while impressive astronomical images are being obtained with the second.
The work is hard, but the mood in the control room is good. Insiders claim that there have even been occasions on which the groups have had a friendly "competition" about which telescope makes the "best" images! The ANTU-team has worked with the FORS multi-mode instrument , their colleagues at KUEYEN use the VLT Test Camera for the ongoing tests of this new telescope. While the first is a highly developed astronomical instrument with a large-field CCD imager (6.8 x 6.8 arcmin 2 in the normal mode; 3.4 x 3.4 arcmin 2 in the high-resolution mode), the other is a less complex CCD camera with a smaller field (1.5 x 1.5 arcmin 2 ), suited to verify the optical performance of the telescope.
As these images demonstrate, the performance of the second VLT Unit Telescope is steadily improving and it may not be too long before its optical quality will approach that of the first. First KUEYEN photos of stars and galaxies
We present here some of the first astronomical images, taken with the second telescope, KUEYEN, in late March and early April 1999. They reflect the current status of the optical, electronic and mechanical systems, still in the process of being tuned. As expected, the experience gained from ANTU last year has turned out to be invaluable and has allowed good progress during this extremely delicate process.
ESO PR Photo 19a/99
ESO PR Photo 19a/99
[Preview - JPEG: 400 x 433 pix - 160k]
[Normal - JPEG: 800 x 866 pix - 457k]
[High-Res - JPEG: 1985 x 2148 pix - 2.0M]
ESO PR Photo 19b/99
ESO PR Photo 19b/99
[Preview - JPEG: 400 x 478 pix - 165k]
[Normal - JPEG: 800 x 956 pix - 594k]
[High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 3583 pix - 7.1M]
Caption to PR Photo 19a/99 : This photo was obtained with VLT KUEYEN on April 4, 1999. It is reproduced from an excellent 60-second R(ed)-band exposure of the innermost region of a globular cluster, Messier 68 (NGC 4590) , in the southern constellation Hydra (The Water-Snake). The distance to this 8-mag cluster is about 35,000 light years, and the diameter is about 140 light-years. The excellent image quality is 0.38 arcsec , demonstrating a good optical and mechanical state of the telescope, already at this early stage of the commissioning phase. The field measures about 90 x 90 arcsec 2. The original scale is 0.0455 pix/arcsec and there are 2048x2048 pixels in one frame. North is up and East is left.
Caption to PR Photo 19b/99 : This photo shows the central region of spiral galaxy ESO 269-57 , located in the southern constellation Centaurus at a distance of about 150 million light-years. Many galaxies are seen in this direction at about the same distance, forming a loose cluster; there are also some fainter, more distant ones in the background. The designation refers to the ESO/Uppsala Survey of the Southern Sky in the 1970's during which over 15,000 southern galaxies were catalogued. ESO 269-57 is a tightly bound object of type Sar , the "r" referring to the "ring" that surrounds the bright centre, that is overexposed here. The photo is a composite, based on three exposures (Blue - 600 sec; Yellow-Green - 300 sec; Red - 300 sec) obtained with KUEYEN on March 28, 1999. The image quality is 0.7 arcsec and the field is 90 x 90 arcsec 2. North is up and East is left.
ESO PR Photo 19c/99
ESO PR Photo 19c/99
[Preview - JPEG: 400 x 478 pix - 132k]
[Normal - JPEG: 800 x 956 pix - 446k]
[High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 3583 pix - 4.6M]
ESO PR Photo 19d/99
ESO PR Photo 19d/99
[Preview - JPEG: 400 x 454 pix - 86k]
[Normal - JPEG: 800 x 907 pix - 301k]
[High-Res - JPEG: 978 x 1109 pix - 282k]
Caption to PR Photo 19c/99 : Somewhat further out in space, and right on the border between the southern constellations Hydra and Centaurus lies this knotty spiral galaxy, IC 4248 ; the distance is about 210 million light-years. It was imaged with KUEYEN on March 28, 1999, with the same filters and exposure times as used for Photo 19b/99. The image quality is 0.75 arcsec and the field is 90 x 90 arcsec 2. North is up and East is left.
Caption to PR Photo 19d/99 : This is a close-up view of the double galaxy NGC 5090 (right) and NGC 5091 (left), in the southern constellation Centaurus. The first is a typical S0 galaxy with a bright diffuse centre, surrounded by a fainter envelope of stars (not resolved in this picture). However, some of the starlike objects seen in this region may be globular clusters (or dwarf galaxies) in orbit around NGC 5090. The other galaxy is of type Sa (the spiral structure is more developed) and is seen at a steep angle. The three-colour composite is based on frames obtained with KUEYEN on March 29, 1999, with the same filters and exposure times as used for Photo 19b/99. The image quality is 0.7 arcsec and the field is 90 x 90 arcsec 2. North is up and East is left. ( Note inserted on April 26: The original caption text identified the second galaxy as NGC 5090B - this error has now been corrected.
ESO PR Photo 19e/99
ESO PR Photo 19e/99
[Preview - JPEG: 400 x 441 pix - 282k]
[Normal - JPEG: 800 x 882 pix - 966k]
[High-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 3307 pix - 6,4M]
Caption to PR Photo 19e/99 : Wide-angle photo of the second 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescope, KUEYEN , obtained on March 10, 1999, with the main mirror and its cell in place at the bottom of the telescope structure. The Test Camera with which the astronomical images above were made, is positioned at the Cassegrain focus, inside this mirror cell. The Paranal Inauguration on March 5, 1999, took place under this telescope that was tilted towards the horizon to accommodate nearly 300 persons on the observing floor. Astronomical observations with ANTU have started
On April 1, 1999, the first 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescope, ANTU , was "handed over" to the astronomers. Last year, about 270 observing proposals competed about the first, precious observing time at Europe's largest optical telescope and more than 100 of these were accommodated within the six-month period until the end of September 1999. The complete observing schedule is available on the web.
These observations will be carried out in two different modes. During the Visitor Mode , the astronomers will be present at the telescope, while in the Service Mode , ESO observers perform the observations. The latter procedure allows a greater degree of flexibility and the possibility to assign periods of particularly good observing conditions to programmes whose success is critically dependent on this.
The first ten nights at ANTU were allocated to service mode observations. After some initial technical problems with the instruments, these have now started. Already in the first night, programmes at ISAAC requiring 0.4 arcsec conditions could be satisfied, and some images better than 0.3 arcsec were obtained in the near-infrared . The first astronomers to use the telescope in visitors mode will be Professors Immo Appenzeller (Heidelberg, Germany; "Photo-polarimetry of pulsars") and George Miley (Leiden, The Netherlands; "Distant radio galaxies") with their respective team colleagues. How to obtain ESO Press Information
ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.eso.org../ ). ESO Press Photos may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.
Note also the dedicated webarea with VLT Information.
No affiliations
No associations
LandOfFree
Two VLT 8.2-m Unit Telescopes in Action does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Two VLT 8.2-m Unit Telescopes in Action, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Two VLT 8.2-m Unit Telescopes in Action will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1430533