From the archive → 2011-10-07 • The Comet Hartley 2 Cruise
Intro
One of the most popular websites at NASA is the Astronomy Picture of the Day. Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Using the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day API, link here, this site provides a new picture and description everyday. Using the input, the user can search for any day in the past. Enjoy all of the informative descriptions, beautiful images, and awesome videos. Discover the cosmos by exploring APODs throughout time!
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Are lasers from giant telescopes being used to defend the Earth? No. Lasers shot from telescopes are now commonly used to help increase the accuracy of astronomical observations. In some directions, Earth atmosphere-induced fluctuations in starlight can indicate how the air mass over a telescope is changing, but in other directions, no bright star exists. In these directions, astronomers can create an artificial star with a laser. Subsequent observations of the artificial laser guide star can reveal information so detailed about the changing blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere that much of it can be removed by rapidly flexing a telescope's mirror. Such adaptive optics techniques allow high-resolution ground-based observations of real stars, planets, and nebulas. Pictured here, telescopes at Paranal Observatory in Chile study a colorful sky filled with green airglow and the Magellanic Clouds on the left, red airglow on the right, and the majestic central band of our Milky Way Galaxy arching across the center.
From the archive → 2011-10-07 • The Comet Hartley 2 Cruise
