{"id":17513,"date":"2019-07-03T07:43:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T05:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oewf.org\/?p=17513"},"modified":"2019-07-08T07:47:18","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T05:47:18","slug":"meeteso-a-solar-eclipse-over-la-silla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oewf.org\/en\/2019\/07\/meeteso-a-solar-eclipse-over-la-silla\/","title":{"rendered":"#MeetESO \u2013 a solar eclipse over La Silla"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

La Silla is located at the outskirts of the Atacama Desert and is the first ESO location inaugurated 50 years ago in 1969. Several telescopes including also non ESO-telescopes are distributed at 2,400 m altitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESO is currently operating the New Technology Telescope (NTT), a pioneer of optical observations. Its 3.58 m main mirror is \u201cflexible\u201d and its shape is actively adjusted by actuators during observations to preserve the optimal image quality. During the solar eclipse the NTT will observe the sun\u2019s corona. To do that, precise timing is necessary as the instruments can only record the sun during it\u2019s short totality phase. Our sun\u2019s corona is an interesting research object, as we do not totally understand it. For example, we still don\u2019t know why the corona is so hot. The astronomers at La Silla are expecting new insights from this experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The New Technology Telescope (NTT). (c) OeWF (Olivia Haider)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
The “flexible” NTT mirror (c) OeWF (Olivia Haider)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The biggest telescope on this mountain is the 3.6 m telescope and is also operated by ESO. With the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) instrument the telescope is very successful detecting or confirming Exoplanets. In La Silla Exoplanet findings of Kepler-2 are regularly confirmed through radial velocity measurements of the HARPS instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Me<\/a>
Me in front of the 3.6 m telescope (c) OeWF (Olivia Haider) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In comparison to Paranal and Alma, La Silla is smaller and cheaper. But its strength is that new technologies can be more easily tested, which makes it attractive to young astronomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solar eclipse is a unique opportunity to use different specialized instruments to observe different aspects of the sun in the 2 minutes of the totality. But also, Mercury\u2019s Exosphere will be examined. Learn more about the conducted experiments in my previous blog post: https:\/\/oewf.org\/en\/2019\/07\/meeteso-einstein-relativity-exciting-experiments\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A solar eclipse over La Silla<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s very rare that a solar eclipse occurs over a standing astronomical facility, therefore ESO opened up La Silla for about 1,000 visitors. Moreover, the President of Chile flew in via helicopter. A logistics challenge, which reminds me a little bit of the Landing Day during our Mars simulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#meetESO<\/a> the eclipse started, we're all setup & waiting for totality. Best weather conditions & no wind \ud83d\ude0e

Sofi hat begonnen. Super Wetter Bedingungen. pic.twitter.com\/9qOxa98KpH<\/a><\/p>— Olivia Haider \ud83d\ude80\ud83d\udc26 (@olidax) July 2, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>