Laser stars in the sky

The biggest obstacle in ground based astronomy is the same thing that causes the stars to twinkle — the atmosphere. This romantic effect is due to the distortion of light as it travels through turbulent gases to reach the Earth's surface. This stunning image shows the scientific solution — the 4 Laser Guide Star Facility on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The lasers form an integral part of the adaptive optics system on the VLT, by beaming artificial stars into the sky. Astronomers can then use these guide laser stars as reference points, allowing them to correct their observations of true celestial bodies.

Kredit:

O snímku

Id:16fkc15268-lighten-cc
Typ:Fotografický
Datum zveřejnění:12. září 2016 15:00
Související oznámení:ann16060
Velikost:4928 x 3280 px

O objektu

Jméno:Laser Guide Star
Typ:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory
Kategorie:Paranal

Image Formats


Zvětšovatelný


Pozadí

1024x768
451,7 KB
1280x1024
718,8 KB
1600x1200
1012,2 KB
1920x1200
1,1 MB
2048x1536
1,5 MB