Figure 6-17: R I V U X G
Creating an Artificial “Star” A laser beam shines upward from Yepun, an 8.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. (Figure 6-14a shows the objective mirror for this telescope.) The beam strikes sodium atoms that lie about 90 km (56 miles) above Earth’s surface, causing them to glow and make an artificial “star.” Tracking the twinkling of this “star” makes it possible to undo the effects of atmospheric turbulence on telescope images.
Creating an Artificial “Star” A laser beam shines upward from Yepun, an 8.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. (Figure 6-14a shows the objective mirror for this telescope.) The beam strikes sodium atoms that lie about 90 km (56 miles) above Earth’s surface, causing them to glow and make an artificial “star.” Tracking the twinkling of this “star” makes it possible to undo the effects of atmospheric turbulence on telescope images.
(European Southern Observatory)