TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Adaptive Optics Pierce the Heavens

Dave Greenfield | Date: 06-23-10 | Comments

Exoplanets, discovered almost entirely by accident, have become of increasing interest to many astronomers. Now, thanks to adaptive optics, it may be easier than ever to catch direct photographs of these tiny planets.

Adaptive optics, according to CalTech Astronomy, allows ground-based telescopes to remove the blurring effects caused by Earth's atmosphere. The technology removes these effects by using a star as a calibration source and then deforming a small mirror to correct for distortions caused by the atmosphere. The corrections happen so fast�thousands of times per second�that the atmosphere does not distort the image.

The concept certainly isn't a new one. Used for several years, adaptive optics have been able to detect atmospheric change in planets and observe the finer details associated with the formation of a star.

The result, of course, is that smaller telescopes can now be used to discover objects quite far from us. What once required large orbiting telescopes, such as Hubble, can now be done with much smaller telescopes here on Earth. That's amazing news for observatories across the globe.

Naturally, there are challenges that come with technology. Because so little light is reflected by these planets but the stars around them are offering quite a bit of light, glare occurs. This makes it tough to see them, let alone take photos. Many adaptive optics systems, though, have been able to overcome this difficulty. As a result, using the technology on smaller telescopes means more power for more astronomers, but placing it on larger ones may mean some very exciting discoveries in the years to come.

Watch this video on the installation of adaptive optics for more information.