Die
ESO (European Southern Observatory) hat gestern ein Video mit den Top 10 astronomischer Entdeckungen veroeffentlicht.
Die Top 10 Liste von 1 bis 10, im Video von 10 bis 1, muss also in umgekehrter Reihenfolge gelesen werden um synchron mit dem Film zu sein.
Stars orbiting the Milky Way black hole
Several of ESO's flagship telescopes were used in a 16-year long study to obtain the most detailed view ever of the surroundings of the monster lurking at the heart of our galaxy — a supermassive black hole.
Accelerating Universe
Two independent research teams, based on observations of exploding stars, including those from ESO's telescopes at La Silla and Paranal, have shown that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for this result.
Planet Found in Habitable Zone Around Nearest Star, Proxima Centauri
The long-sought world, designated Proxima b, orbits its cool red parent star every 11 days and has a temperature suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface. This rocky world is a little more massive than the Earth and is the closest exoplanet to us — and it may also be the closest possible abode for life outside the Solar System.
Revolutionary ALMA image reveals planetary genesis
In 2014, ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, revealed remarkable details of a solar system that is forming. The images of HL Tauri were the sharpest ever made at submillimetre wavelengths. They show how forming planets are vacuuming up dust and gas in a protoplanetary disc.
First image of an exoplanet
The VLT has obtained the first-ever image of a planet outside our Solar System. The 5-Jupiter-mass planet orbits a failed star — a brown dwarf — at a distance of 55 times the mean Earth-Sun distance.
Oldest star known in the Milky Way
Using ESO's VLT, astronomers have measured the age of the oldest star known in our galaxy, the Milky Way. At 13.2 billion years old, the star was born in the earliest era of star formation in the Universe. Uranium has also been detected in a Milky Way star and used as an independent estimate of the age of the galaxy.
Direct measurements of the spectra of exoplanets and their atmospheres
The atmosphere around a super-Earth exoplanet has been analysed for the first time using the VLT. The planet, which is known as GJ 1214b, was studied as it passed in front of its parent star and some of the starlight passed through the planet’s atmosphere. The atmosphere is either mostly water in the form of steam or is dominated by thick clouds or hazes. This follows from the earlier first direct spectrum of an exoplanet.
Science papers:
Bean, J. et al, 2010, Nature
Janson, M. et al, 2010, ApJ
Read more in the ESO Press Release eso1047 and in the ESO Press Release eso1002
Cosmic temperature independently measured
The VLT has detected carbon monoxide molecules in a galaxy located almost 11 billion light-years away for the first time, a feat that had remained elusive for 25 years. This has allowed astronomers to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch.
Science paper:
Srianand, R. et al, 2008, A&A (Telbib)
Noterdaeme et al., A&A (Telbib)
Read more in the ESO Press Release eso0813
Richest planetary system
Astronomers using ESO’s HARPS have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets, orbiting the Sun-like star HD 10180. Also evidence that two other planets may be present, one of which would have the lowest mass ever found. Furthermore, the team also found evidence that the distances of the planets from their star follow a regular pattern, as also seen in our Solar System.
Science paper:
Lovis, C. et al, 2010, A&A
Read more in the ESO Press Release eso1035
Gamma-ray bursts – the connections with supernovae and merging neutron stars
ESO telescopes have provided definitive proof that long gamma-ray bursts are linked with the ultimate explosion of massive stars, solving a long-time puzzle. In addition a telescope at La Silla was able for the first time to observe the visible light from a short gamma-ray burst, showing that this family of objects most likely originate from the violent collision of two merging neutron stars.
Science papers:
Galama T.J., et al., 1998, Nature
Hjorth et al., 2003 (Telbib)
Hjorth, J., et al., 2005, Nature
Pian, E., et al., 2006, Nature
Read more in the ESO Press Release eso0318, ESO Press Release eso0533 and in the ESO Press Release eso0633.