Telescope operators figured out years ago how to make the stars stop twinkling. Now a team of Australian scientists wants to use the same technology to track space junk and blast it out of space. Ground-based stations use lasers to track individual pieces of space debris, but those lasers get distorted by the same atmospheric effects that make stars twinkle. Researchers want to use ‘adaptive optics’ to improve those laser systems.
“Without adaptive optics, a telescope sees an object in space like a blob of light,” said Celine D’Orgeville, a scientist at the Australian National University. “With adaptive optics these objects become easier to see, and images become a lot sharper.” Adaptive optics essentially cut through the distortion in our atmosphere, making sure we can clearly see the incredible images our telescopes capture.