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April 30, 2024
As part of a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and ESO, the OASIS project (Observations of Night Luminescence with Spectrometer and Imaging Systems) has officially joined ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Paranal is renowned for hosting world-leading astronomical observatories, such as ESO’s Very Large Telescope, but is also ideal for certain atmospheric observations. Operated by DLR and hosted by ESO, OASIS aims to demonstrate that monitoring “night glow” in our atmosphere has the potential to provide early tsunami warnings.
Tsunamis, giant waves caused primarily by earthquakes under the sea, are a destructive force of nature that can cause significant loss of life and damage to infrastructure. OASIS attempts to demonstrate that it is possible to mitigate some impacts of these natural hazards by monitoring our atmosphere. Earthquakes generate sound waves that rise through the atmosphere. These disturbances affect the so-called atmospheric luminescence or nocturnal luminescence, the natural emission of molecules high in the atmosphere. OASIS will monitor such luminescence, specifically the emission of hydroxyl molecules at a height of about 86 km, which could eventually be used to issue early tsunami warnings.
Given its environmental and climatic conditions, Paranal is exceptionally suitable for atmospheric observation. The Atacama Desert in Chile, where Paranal is located, has a unique dry climate, ideal for astronomical and atmospheric observations. Chile is also close to two tectonic plates that often produce strong earthquakes, including some that generate tsunamis.
In addition to monitoring atmospheric luminescence on a given night, OASIS also has potential to benefit its neighboring telescopes. Atmospheric luminescence appears as a faint glow that prevents the night sky from being completely dark, which can affect observations from ground-based telescopes. Although there are methods to justify it, nighttime luminescence turns out to be a complex and changing phenomenon. The periodic luminescence monitoring data collected by OASIS could be used to forecast the brightness of the luminescence on a given night, eventually helping ESO to take luminescence into account in astronomical observations by optimizing the use of telescope time.
The inauguration of OASIS took place yesterday, more than a year after the first test observations were obtained with the OASIS instruments. As part of the launch event, DLR and ESO staff met in Paranal to present presentations on the project, followed by a round table on cooperation opportunities.
Links
Contacts
Alain Smette
ESO Staff Astronomer
Paranal, Chile
Tel: +56 2 2463 3113
Email: [email protected]
Patrick Hannawald
DLR German Remote Sensing Data Center, Atmosphere
Wessling, Germany
Tel.: +49 8153 28-3566
Email: [email protected]
Barbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching near München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
Email: [email protected]
