Sep 22 2010
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory is firing an intense laser into space, to produce a virtual star to make up for the atmospheric interference of the Earth.
A Chilean telescope fires a laser into space to create a virtual star in the heart of the Milky Way
The virtual star seems to be positioned at the middle of the Milky Way. However, the star is only 56 miles above the ground. This technique will enable the crew of the VLT to adjust the adaptive optics system, which is a set of mirrors. These adjustable mirrors will compensate for the blurring due to the atmosphere of the Earth.
The laser is accurately tuned for energizing a sodium atom layer, which is present in one of the atmosphere’s upper layers. The sodium is considered as a remnant left behind by the numerous streaking meteorites. The sodium atoms will glow, when laser light hit them, creating a virtual star that the Very Large Telescope utilizes as a reference. This method is used by astronomers to acquire sharp observations.
Source: http://www.eso.org/