Guiding light

Unit Telescope 4 (Yepun) of the VLT using laser light to create a guide star. Yepun is installed with state-of-the-art technology called Adaptive Optics, which enables the telescope to capture much sharper images by correcting the blurring effects of the Earth’s atmosphere. The artificial Laser Guide Star being produced here is part of the Adaptive Optics system. The other three Unit Telescopes are pictured in the background to the right. Their names, which correspond to astronomical objects in the Mapuche language, are (from left to right) Antu, Kueyen and Melipal. The bright band of stars pictured overhead is our own galaxy the Milky Way, and the Magellanic Clouds can be seen to the left of Yepun.