Skylog: Heliosphere

ESO's GigaGalaxy Zoom realease 340 million pixel

September 23 2009 05:31 UTC | Views: 822 | Comments: 0
Posted by: TonyF in ESO

This 34 by 20-degree wide image provides us with a view as experienced by amateur astronomers around the world. However, its incredible beauty and appeal owe much to the quality of the observing site and the skills of Stéphane Guisard, the world-renowned astrophotographer, who is also an ESO engineer. This second image directly benefits from the quality of Paranal's sky, one of the best on the planet, where ESO's Very Large Telescope is located. In addition, Guisard has drawn on his professional expertise as an optical engineer specializing in telescopes, a rare combination in the world of astrophotographers. Guisard, as head of the optical engineering team at Paranal, is responsible for ensuring that the Very Large Telescope has the best optical performance possible.

To create this stunning, true-colour mosaic of the Galactic Centre region, Guisard assembled about 1200 individual images, totaling more than 200 hours of exposure time, collected over 29 nights, during Guisard's free time, while working during the day at Paranal

The image shows the region spanning the sky from the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer) to Scorpius (the Scorpion). The very colorful Rho Ophiuchi and Antares region is a prominent feature to the right, although much darker areas, such as the Pipe and Snake nebulae also stand out. The dusty lane of our Milky Way runs obliquely through the image, dotted with remarkable bright, reddish nebulae, such as the Lagoon and the Trifid Nebulae, as well as NGC 6357 and NGC 6334. This dark lane also hosts the very centre of our Galaxy, where a super massive black hole is lurking.

image credit: ESO Stéphane Guisard