The laser frequency comb in action

Eso_ann12037a_1024

eso_ann12037a May 30th, 2012

Credit: ESO

This picture illustrates part of a spectrum of a star obtained using the HARPS instrument on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The lines are the light from the star spread out in great detail into its component colours. The dark gaps in the lines are absorption features from different elements in the star. The regularly spaced bright spots just above the lines are the spectrum of the laser frequency comb that is used for comparison. The very stable nature and regular spacing of the frequency comb make it an ideal comparison, allowing the detection of minute shifts in the star’s spectrum that are induced by the motion of orbiting planets. Note that in this image, the colour range is for illustrative purposes only, as the real changes are much more subtle.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann12037a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
HD75289 Spectrum
Subject - Milky Way
Star

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
ESO-3.6m (HARPS) -
Eso_ann12037a_1280
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ID
ann12037a
Subject Category
B.3  
Subject Name
HD75289, Spectrum
Credits
ESO
Release Date
2012-05-30T19:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann12037a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
ESO 3.6-metre telescope
Instrument
HARPS
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
1061.0, 674.0
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
ann12037a
Metadata Date
2012-05-29T18:09:41+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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