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It will create a comprehensive star catalogue for the Adaptive Optics system (AOS) of the TMT, enabling TMT to generate sharper astronomical images.
- Telescopes on Earth’s surface face atmospheric distortion, affecting the quality of images (more pronounced in telescopes with high light-collection capacities, like the TMT).
- To counteract this, an AOS is used.
About Adaptive Optics system
- Involves sophisticated, deformable mirrors controlled by computers to correct the distortion caused by turbulence of Earth’s atmosphere in real-time.
- To achieve this, it requires a fairly bright reference star (close to the object under study) to measure the blurring that has to be corrected by the deformable mirror.
- Above mentioned AOS system on TMT, aka Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), would be enhanced by a Laser Guide Star (LGS) facility.
- It would require feedback from three real stars, known as Natural Guide Stars (NGS).
Ground Based Astronomy
- It involves large telescopes located on Earth’s surface employing sophisticated optics to capture and analyze celestial objects.
- Unlike space based telescopes, they are cost effective and easier to maintain.
- It includes the Extremely Large Telescopes currently under development: The Thirty Meter Telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope, and the European Southern Observatory.
Thirty Meter Telescope
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