Fact Sheet
Zapping the Sky
A fish-eye image shows a laser firing from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The laser causes atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow. Small mirrors inside the telescope adjust their shape many times per second to bring that glow into sharp focus. The adjustments also bring astronomical objects near the laser beam into sharp focus, vastly improving the telescope's images. Astronomers use the laser, which was invented 50 years ago, for many tasks, including measuring the distance from Earth to the Moon and looking for gravitational waves. [Gemini Observatory]
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