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For three years, I worked as a part-time "laser safety observer" for W.M. Keck Observatory and Gemini Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. That means I worked from dusk till dawn, doing alternating two hour shifts sitting outside in sub-freezing temperatures well above the clouds at nearly 14,000-feet elevation. My job was primarily to monitor a sodium diode laser, used in adaptive optics imaging as a simulated reference star to correct for atmospheric distortion of luminance. In other words, a bright red laser beaming into space, the sight of which would make a Bond villain's eyes light right up.
Pictured here is the LGS of Keck Observatory, hard at work throughout the night. It's truly a fascinating bit of technology for one of the world's most powerful telescopes, but the spectacular stargazing up there alone was enough to leave me in awe!
Pictured here is the LGS of Keck Observatory, hard at work throughout the night. It's truly a fascinating bit of technology for one of the world's most powerful telescopes, but the spectacular stargazing up there alone was enough to leave me in awe!
Category Photography / Scenery
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 960px
File Size 740.4 kB
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