February 2, 2012 - ScienceBlogs.com
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Just a couple of months ago, Gemini South Observatory released their first light image from GeMS/GSAOI, the world's most advanced adaptive optics system, attached to the 8-meter Gemini Telescope. And wouldn't you know which object they happened to take a look at for their very first image?
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012
A Telescope as Sharp as Hubble — but on the Ground Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2105816,00.html#ixzz1lpCFwBCL
February 2, 2012 - Time.com
Most people think that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the most powerful stargazing system in the world. It's understandable, given the astounding images and spectacular science the instrument has been delivering since it went into full operation back in 1993.
Most people think that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the most powerful stargazing system in the world. It's understandable, given the astounding images and spectacular science the instrument has been delivering since it went into full operation back in 1993.
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But there's another way: a technology known as adaptive optics (AO) can de-blur the vision of a ground-based telescope — and astronomers at the 26-ish-foot (8-ish-meter) Gemini South telescope in Chile have debuted the most powerful AO system to date. According to astronomer Francois Rigaut, who led the team that built the new hardware, its images rival the Hubble's for sharpness, and in a press release, Matt Mountain, director of the Hubble's home base, the Space Telescope Science Institute, called the image quality "incredible."
But there's another way: a technology known as adaptive optics (AO) can de-blur the vision of a ground-based telescope — and astronomers at the 26-ish-foot (8-ish-meter) Gemini South telescope in Chile have debuted the most powerful AO system to date. According to astronomer Francois Rigaut, who led the team that built the new hardware, its images rival the Hubble's for sharpness, and in a press release, Matt Mountain, director of the Hubble's home base, the Space Telescope Science Institute, called the image quality "incredible."
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