Astrophysics

(ASO821S)
Part 2
Observational Techniques
and Principle

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 Observational Techniques and Principle
❖ Objectives:
1. Introduction.
2. Understanding astronomical observation through the atmosphere.
3. Early exceptional observation sites
4. The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S) telescope in Namibia

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 2.1. Introduction
Up to the end of the Middle Ages, the most important means of observation in
astronomy was the human eye. It was aided by various mechanical devices to measure the
positions of celestial bodies in the sky.
The telescope was invented in Holland at the beginning of the 17th century, and in 1609
Galileo Galilei made his first astronomical observations with this new instrument.
Astronomical photography was introduced at the end of the 19th century, and during the
last few decades many kinds of electronic detectors have been adopted for the study of
electromagnetic radiation from space.
The electromagnetic spectrum from the shortest gamma rays to long radio waves can
now be used for astronomical observations

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 2.2. Observation Through the Atmosphere
❖ With satellites and spacecraft, observations can be made outside the atmosphere.
❖ Yet, the great majority of astronomical observations are carried out from the surface of
the Earth.
❖ The atmospheric layers affect astronomical observation in several ways, these involves
• The weather restlessness of the atmosphere
• The opacity of the atmosphere in many wavelength regions.
• Variation in temperatures and densities of the different layers. The changes causes
convection and turbulence that affect observation. When the light from a star passes
through the unsteady air, a rapid changes in the light refraction is generated, these
affect the amount of light reaching the detector. e.g., the human eye, constantly
varies. The star is said to scintillate.

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 • Variation in the amplitude and phase of a wavefront with respect to time. The
amplitude variations cause scintillation and phase changes blur the image.
• Some wavelength regions in the electromagnetic spectrum are strongly absorbed by
the atmosphere. At wavelengths under 300 nm absorption by atmospheric ozone
prevents radiation from reaching the ground.

❖ A telescope collects light over a larger area, which evens out rapid changes and
diminishes scintillation.
❖ Instead, differences in the phase do not cancel out the same way; they smear the
image and point sources are seen in telescopes as vibrating speckles.
❖ This phenomenon is called seeing. When the exposure time is at least a few seconds
the light oscillates in all directions, and the stellar image becomes a round disk.

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Figure. 2.1. Scintillation of Sirius during four passes across the field of view. The
star was very low on the horizon. (Photo by Pekka Parviainen)

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❖ In the 19th century Lord Rayleigh succeeded in explaining why the sky is blue.
❖ Scattering caused by the molecules in the atmosphere is inversely proportional to the fourth
power of the wavelength.
❖ Thus, blue light is scattered more than red light. The blue light we see all over the sky is
scattered sunlight.
❖ The same phenomenon colours the setting sun red, because owing to the long, oblique
path through the atmosphere, all the blue light has been scattered away.
❖ Astronomers have looked all over the Earth for optimal conditions and have found some
exceptional sites.

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2.3. Early Astronomical Observation Sites
❖ In the 1970’s, several new major observatories were founded at these sites.
❖ Among the best sites in the world are:
• The extinct volcano Mauna Kea on Hawaii, rising more than 4000 m above
the sea;
• The dry mountains in northern Chile;
• The Sonoran desert in the U.S., near the border of Mexico; and
• The mountains on La Palma, in the Canary Islands.

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Figure 2.2. Telescopes near the top of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the Big
Island of Hawaii. (Ric Noyle / W. M. Keck Observatory)
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Figure 2.3. A cluster of small telescope domes at Cerro Tololo overlooks the
foothills of the Andes. The dry mountains in northern Chile.
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Figure 3.3. The Sonoran desert in the U.S., near the border of Mexico

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Figure 2.4. La palma - observatory with reflector telescope on the roque
de los muchachos
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 2.4. H.e.s.s. Telescope In Namibia Explores
Universe
Namibia's clear night skies away from the larger cities are internationally known among
hobby astronomers and certain guest farms often have a telescope ready for them.
Lesser known is the fact that about 100 km west of Windhoek, at 1,800 m altitude, there are
several huge reflecting telescopes near the majestic Gamsberg, looking for cosmic rays since
2002 for scientific purposes.
Researchers study gamma rays from outer space caused by energy sources as far away
as the Milky Way and galaxies many light years away.
The dark matter and black holes are also part of the research programme of the world's
largest reflector telescope system for gamma rays.

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 Around 260 scientists of 40 scientific institutes from 13 countries, including Namibia, are
involved in the H.E.S.S. project at Farm Göllschau.
Twenty years ago, the Max Planck Society in Germany and the Federal Ministry of Research
jointly spent six million Euros on the project, contributing more than 75 percent of the total cost
of 7.6 million Euros.
The abbreviation H.E.S.S. stands for "High Energy Stereoscopic System" and the acronym
simultaneously honours the Austrian discover of gamma rays, Victor Franz Hess (1883-1964).
Hess was an Austrian physicist who discovered the cosmic rays on 7 August 1912 and has
proved their existence through his research. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics for this
discovery in 1936.
The foundations for the first four telescopes were cast in the year 2000. A Namibian company
built the gigantic steel structures weighing several tons.
The first of the four telescopes erected at the vertices of a 120m long square was completed
in mid-2002 and has since picked up gamma rays. By December 2003, the remaining three
mirror (reflecting) telescopes were set up.

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 They weigh 60 tons each, including the heavy cameras, which are placed in the centre of
the parabolic mirrors. The mirrors of the telescopes are each composed of 382 round-mirror
facets of 60 cm diameter. The total amount of 1,528 mirrors of the four telescopes altogether
cover an area of 432 m².
The circular telescopes can be rotated on rollers and the huge mirror dishes are
adjustable. In the first ten years alone, they discovered eight new sources of energy.
Meanwhile, hundreds of scientific reports and articles have been published on the
H.E.S.S. Telescope’s collected data on gamma rays and their evaluation.
In 2012 for the tenth anniversary of the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia, a fifth telescope
was added. It stands in the middle of the square, is almost 40 m high and towers over the
four other telescopes.
It has a diameter of 28 m. Its mirror has 875 hexagonal mirror facets of 90 cm in diameter.
The total mirror surface is 614 m². The colossal total weight is 600 tons. The fifth H.E.S.S
telescope is currently the world's largest reflecting telescope.

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Figure 2.5.The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S) telescope in
Namibia
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