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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

A Chilean telescope fires a laser into space to create a virtual star in the heart of

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A Chilean telescope fires a laser into space to create a virtual star in the heart of the Milky Way | Before It's News

A Chilean telescope fires a laser into space to create a virtual star in the heart of the Milky Way


The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope is shooting a freakin big laser into space, to create a virtual star to compensate for the Earth's atmospheric interference.

The resulting star appears to be in the center of the Milky Way, although it's just 56 miles up. This commonly used technique allows the VLT crew to adjust their adaptive optics system, a set of adjustable mirrors that compensate for the blurring caused by the Earth's atmosphere. Explains Space.com:

Continue reading at the link
 





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Sep 16, 2007
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The excited sodium line is around 589nm-593.5nm. ;)

These guide stars have been used for a while now.
 
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May 6, 2010
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Well thanks for bringing it back up! :yh: I am very interested in astronomy and for someone relatively new to the forum, I have not heard about this.

Now I'm off to research this topic...
 




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