3.5-Meter Telescope

The laser guidestar technique involves a laser fired toward space. Portions of that laser beam reflect back to earth, providing scientists with information on the distortions caused by the atmosphere. Adaptive optics is then used to correct for the distortion. The Range has produced improvements greater than a factor of 25 over conventional astronomical imaging and demonstrated that artificial beacon technology can virtually eliminate turbulence-induced distortions. The adaptive optics technology developed at the Range is of great interest to astronomers and could revolutionize ground-based optical astronomy. Efforts are ongoing to transfer much of this technology to the worldwide astronomical community.