Brazil Builds High-Resolution Spectrograph
Hello reader!
It follows an article published today (10/01) in the english
website of the Agência FAPESP noting that Brazil builds High-Resolution Spectrograph.
Duda Falcão
NEWS
Brazil Builds High-Resolution Spectrograph
Karina Toledo,
in Itajubá (MG)
October 01, 2014
(Photo
of SOAR: Ricardo Zorzetto)
Equipment will be installed at the SOAR telescope in
Chile,
says Bruno Vaz Castilho, director of the Brazilian National
Laboratory
for Astrophysics.
|
Agência
FAPESP –
Researchers at the Brazilian National Laboratory for Astrophysics (LNA) in
Itajubá (MG) are nearing the completion of construction on the first Brazilian
high-resolution spectrograph, known as STELES (SOAR Telescope Èchelle
Spectrograph).
The
expectation is that the equipment – long-awaited by the astronomy community –
may be installed in early 2015 at the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical
Research (SOAR) in Chile, operated by an international consortium of Brazilian,
North American and Chilean partners.
“High-resolution
spectroscopy is a technique that allows capturing the visible light of a
celestial body – a star, nebula or galaxy – and separating it into its various
wavelengths. That way, it’s possible to perceive the lines of light absorption
through the various chemical elements that constitute the object under study,”
explained Bruno Vaz Castilho, director of the LNA and coordinator of the
project team that designed and assembled the instrument.
By
studying light absorption lines, astronomers are able to calculate the quantity
of calcium, iron, titanium and other elements found in the atmosphere
surrounding a celestial body. It is also possible to determine its mass,
radius, gravity, temperature, rotation speed and the existence of other planets
or stars around it.
“It’s a
very valuable technique for astronomy, and increasingly effective equipment has
been developed all over the world. The STELES boasts state-of-the-art
technology that will have extremely high resolution, giving it the ability to
capture most of the photons that reach it,” Castilho noted.
According
to the LNA director, the equipment cost R$2.5 million – R$1.2 million of which
was financed by FAPESP through the project, “STELES: a high-resolution
spectrograph for SOAR”, coordinated by Prof. Augusto Damineli of the Institute of Astronomy,
Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences (IAG) at the University of São Paulo (USP).
The remaining portion was financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation (MCTI).
“It
would cost at least R$4 million to import similar equipment. Besides being more
expensive, high-resolution spectrographs with similar technology are usually
larger and heavier. Our challenge was to use the available resources to develop
a compact instrument that could be attached to the SOAR telescope, whose
diameter is 4.2 meters,” Castilho said.
Made up
of more than 5,000 parts, each designed by LNA researchers, the STELES was
first conceived in 2003, but construction only began in 2008, Castilho
explained.
“Up to
now, Brazilian astronomers have depended on partnerships with groups based
abroad and had adapted their studies to the instruments available to them. The
STELES will allow them to do more advanced science in various areas in which
Brazil has important research, especially because the country has the right to 30%
of the observation time on the SOAR telescope,” Castilho said.
Damineli
is one of several researchers who are expected to benefit from the new
spectrograph. For more than 20 years, the IAG professor has had FAPESP support
in studying the mysterious phenomena that involve a giant star known as Eta
Carinae, situated nearly 8,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation
Carina (read more about it at: http://agencia.fapesp.br/19625).
For the
past 5.5 years, Eta Carinae has been experiencing a type of blackout. By
studying the phenomenon, the team of astronomers led by Damineli have
discovered the existence of a binary system in which, from time to time, the
smaller star collides with the larger one and creates a hole in its surface.
The most
recent occurrence of this was in July 2014, and it mobilized more than 30
scientists and amateur astronomers at observatories in New Zealand, Australia,
South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Brazil – in addition to NASA’s orbital
telescopes Hubble, Chandra and Swift.
Damineli
monitored the event from the Pico dos Dias Observatory, operated by the LNA in
Brazópolis (MG). He intends to monitor the next blackout from Chile with the
help of the new equipment to be installed on the SOAR.
Source: English WebSite of the Agência FAPESP
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