Starfire laser beam. A copper vapour laser beam (green) being projected by a 1.5-metre 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 3.5-metre 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 | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Parker, David |
Taille de l’image : | 4689 px × 3780 px |
Model Release : | Le droit n'est pas encore disponible. Merci de nous contacter avant utilisation. |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |