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Abstract
Since Galileo’s first observations in 1609, telescopes have grown dramatically in size. Larger telescopes collect more light, allowing astronomers to detect fainter sources and to look further back in time towards the birth of the universe. The angular resolution of these telescopes, however, has been limited by turbulence in the earth’s atmosphere. This limitation can be dramatically reduced with the use of adaptive optics (AO) to measure and correct the blurring introduced by atmospheric turbulence. AO is now routinely used for science observations on the world’s largest telescopes and is providing a much more detailed view of our universe.
Acknowledgements
The astronomical success of AO is the product of a creative and energetic international community whose members have thought up new concepts, developed or adapted new technologies, engineered the many details, and applied AO systems to astronomical problems. The author would like to acknowledge these many giants and hopes that he has been able to do justice to their many contributions.
The Keck AO systems, which are heavily referenced in this paper due to the author’s familiarity with them, are also the product of a talented and hardworking team too numerous to credit individually here. The Keck AO systems have been made possible by financial contributions from the W. M. Keck Foundation, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the US National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and other private donors.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.