Starfire laser beam. A copper vapour laser beam (green) being projected by a telescope at the Starfire Optical Range (SOR). This laser creat

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Starfire laser beam. A copper vapour laser beam (green) being projected by a telescope at the Starfire Optical Range (SOR). This laser creates an artificial 'star' in the upper atmosphere, within the field of view of the SOR's main telescope. The latter detects any change in shape of the artificial 'star' due to air turbulence, and uses a flexible adaptive optics mirror to compensate. This effectively counters the familiar 'twinkling' of stars, and offers highly-improved resolution over conventional ground-based observatories. The SOR was developed by a team led by Robert Fugate and was built in New Mexico, USA.

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Size: 4689px × 3780px
Photo credit: © DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: adaptive, astronomy, astrophysics, beam, laser, optical, optics, starfire, telescope