Observing the Galactic Center (IMAGE)

Thirty Meter Telescope

Observing the Galactic Center

Caption

The two W. M. Keck Telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, observing the galactic center. The lasers are used to create an artificial star in Earth's upper atmosphere, which is then employed to measure the blurring effects of the lower atmosphere (the unfortunate effect that makes the stars twinkle in the night sky). The blurring gets corrected in real time with the help of a deformable mirror. This is the so-called adaptive optics technique.

Credit

Ethan Tweedie

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With credit: Image courtesy UCLA/Ethan Tweedie

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