Astronomers have made history by capturing the first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy, located 160,000 light-years away. The star, WOH G64, is surrounded by a disk of circumstellar material, which is of great interest to scientists studying the formation and evolution of stars.
The image was captured using the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), a “virtual” telescope that combines the light from four telescopes to achieve high-resolution imaging. The VLTI is an upgrade to the first-generation instrument, MIDI, which was used in earlier observations of WOH G64.
The team of scientists behind this achievement includes Keiichi Ohnaka from Universidad Andrés Bello, Gerd Weigelt from Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, and Jacco van Loon from Keele University. The research was presented in a paper to appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
This groundbreaking discovery opens up new avenues of study on star formation and the properties of circumstellar material. The GRAVITY instrument has improved sensitivity and resolution, allowing scientists to observe objects that were previously too faint or distant.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) played a crucial role in this achievement, operating the VLTI at its Paranal facility in Chile. ESO’s commitment to cutting-edge technology and international collaboration enabled the success of this mission.
This research is expected to have significant implications for our understanding of the universe, particularly in the fields of star formation, planetary science, and cosmology. As scientists continue to explore the mysteries of WOH G64, they may uncover new insights into the evolution of stars and the properties of circumstellar material.
Source: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2417