Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2019 January 6
                                      [2]
                    A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center
  Image Credit: Yuri Beletsky [3] (Carnegie [4] Las Campanas Observatory [5] ,
                              TWAN [6] ), ESO [7]

Explanation: Why are these people shooting a powerful laser into the center of
our Galaxy? Fortunately, this is not meant to be the first step in a Galactic
war [8] . Rather, astronomers at the Very Large Telescope [9]  (VLT) site in
Chile [10] are trying to measure the distortions of Earth's ever changing
atmosphere [11] . Constant imaging of high-altitude atoms excited by the laser
[12]  -- which appear like an artificial star [13]  -- allow astronomers to
instantly measure atmospheric blurring [14] . This information is fed back to
a VLT telescope mirror [15]  which is then slightly deformed [16]  to minimize
this blurring. In this case [17] , a VLT was observing our Galaxy's center
[18] , and so Earth's atmospheric blurring in that direction was needed. As
for inter-galaxy warfare, when viewed from our Galaxy's center [19] , no
casualties are expected. In fact, the light from this powerful laser [20]
would combine with light from our Sun [21]  to together appear only as bright
[22]  as a faint and distant star.

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                        Tomorrow's picture: busy bull

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1901/vltlaser_beletsky_1400.jpg
  [3] https://www.instagram.com/yuribeletsky/
  [4] http://carnegiescience.edu/
  [5] http://www.lco.cl/
  [6] http://www.twanight.org/
  [7] https://www.eso.org/
  [8] https://youtu.be/nohQReM7BpI
  [9] ap000707.html
  [10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
  [11] ap000725.html
  [12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SBSbsdiYg
  [13] ap050207.html
  [14] http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/optics/lgsao/lgsbasics.html
  [15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_test
  [16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_optics
  [17] https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1036a/
  [18] ap180729.html
  [19] ap050403.html
  [20] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66aVXk5jSn8
  [21] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/
  [22] ap160926.html
  [23] http://www.apodar.com/
  [24] http://www.apod.cat/
  [25] http://www.bjp.org.cn/apod/today.html
  [26] http://sprite.phys.ncku.edu.tw/astrolab/mirrors/apod/ apod.html
  [27] http://www.apod.rs/Croatia.html
  [28] http://www.astro.cz/apod/
  [29] http://www.apod.nl/
  [30] http://www.starobserver.org/
  [31] http://www.cidehom.com/apod.php
  [32] https://www.apod.tv/
  [33] http://www.astronomia2009.org.il/info/apod/apod.htm
  [34] http://apod.infoastronomy.org/
  [35] http://home.u05.itscom.net/apodjpn/apodj/apodj0.htm
  [36] http://wouldyoulike.org/apod/
  [37] http://www.apod.rs/Montenegro.html
  [38] http://apod.pl/apod/
  [39] http://www.astronet.ru/db/apod.html
  [40] http://www.apod.rs/
  [41] http://apod.fmf.uni-lj.si/
  [42] http://observatorio.info/
  [43] ap190105.html
  [44] archivepix.html
  [45] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [46] lib/aptree.html
  [47] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [48] calendar/allyears.html
  [49] /apod.rss
  [50] lib/edlinks.html
  [51] lib/about_apod.html
  [52] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190106
  [53] ap190107.html
  [54] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [55] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [56] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [57] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [58] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [59] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [60] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [61] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [62] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [63] http://www.mtu.edu/

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