Laser beam creating an “artificial” star

A laser beam shoots out of Yepun, the fourth Unit Telescope of Europe’s flagship observatory, ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). This beam is used to create an artificial star above Paranal to assist the adaptive optics instruments on the VLT. 

Adaptive optics is a technique that allows astronomers to overcome the blurring effect of the atmosphere and obtain images almost as sharp as would be possible if the whole telescope were placed in space, above Earth's atmosphere.

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Über das Bild

ID:yb_lgs_beam_8851_cc
Typ:Fotografisch
Veröffentlichungsdatum:3. Dezember 2009 23:19
Größe:3000 x 2000 px

Über das Objekt

Name:Very Large Telescope
Typ:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope
Kategorie:Paranal

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