The Power of Visible Light Adaptive Optics (IMAGE)

University of Arizona

The Power of Visible Light Adaptive Optics

Caption

The power of visible light adaptive optics: On the left is a "normal" photo of the theta 1 Ori C binary star in red light. The middle image shows the same object, but with MagAO's adaptive optics system turned on. Eliminating the atmospheric blurring, the resulting photo becomes about 17 times sharper, turning a blob into a crisp image of a binary star pair. These are the highest resolution photos taken by a telescope.

Credit

Laird Close/UA

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