Time lapse video of the VLT (Very Large Telescope) at work - incredible

[SS Junk]

They need to set that up at an Imax with Pink Floyd's Dark side of the Moon, Animals and Meddle albums.

[Strychnine]

Actually I just realized someone screwed up that first picture. That is from the back side of our building and thats not the LURE project LASER, thats the dark matter telescope.

With a green laser?

Correct me if I'm wrong here but the whole point of the laser is to create an artificial star to help the adaptive optics filter out atmospheric BS... and it works by exciting sulfur mols in the mesosphere at a very precise frequency (which happens to be visible as orange light) ? Is there another way w/ a different freq laser?



Either way, large telescopes are fucking rad. When I was in school and still thought I was going to take a more theoretical path in life (majoring in physics, taking every astronomy class I could) I got to go deep in the guts of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM and then in the Apache Point observatory near Cloudcroft, NM. I was there right around the time the Sloan Digital Sky Survey got up and running and got to see all of the CCDs, fiber optics, etc behind the scenes.

I <3 astronomy.

[LaserSVT]

With a green laser?

Correct me if I'm wrong here but the whole point of the laser is to create an artificial star to help the adaptive optics filter out atmospheric BS... and it works by exciting sulfur mols in the mesosphere at a very precise frequency (which happens to be visible as orange light) ? Is there another way w/ a different freq laser?



Either way, large telescopes are fucking rad. When I was in school and still thought I was going to take a more theoretical path in life (majoring in physics, taking every astronomy class I could) I got to go deep in the guts of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM and then in the Apache Point observatory near Cloudcroft, NM. I was there right around the time the Sloan Digital Sky Survey got up and running and got to see all of the CCDs, fiber optics, etc behind the scenes.

I <3 astronomy.

Usually a LASER is used to measure distance, speed and temp. Our LASER was almost purple but what we shot was satellites. We were a tracking station for NASA to tell them the speed and altitude and temp of 77 different satellites in orbit (not geosynchronous). What LURE was originally for is tracking of the moon. When the astronauts went there the put several small mirrors on the moon and that dome would shoot them. Then that became pointless and the dome was re-tasked to satellite tracking.

[Strychnine]

Usually a LASER is used to measure distance, speed and temp. Our LASER was almost purple but what we shot was satellites. We were a tracking station for NASA to tell them the speed and altitude and temp of 77 different satellites in orbit (not geosynchronous). What LURE was originally for is tracking of the moon. When the astronauts went there the put several small mirrors on the moon and that dome would shoot them. Then that became pointless and the dome was re-tasked to satellite tracking.

Ahh. When you said it was the dark matter telescope I figured it was doing some deep space work.

[LaserSVT]

Ahh. When you said it was the dark matter telescope I figured it was doing some deep space work.

No thats the add on dome. In the first picture I posted with the light. I thought it was the LURE dome at first untill I got my bearings straight. No beams at all come from that dome. It just looks at the spaces between galaxies.

That picture was edited to show what the LURE dome looks like when it fires only the person that did it failed and used the wrong dome. LOL.

[TheTRiM]

for somebody with screen capture skills, that video has the making of 1000's of potentially awesome desktop pics

[T-TOPPS5.0]

Those likely arent shooting stars, more likely high altutude airplanes.

In time lapse , a shooting star would happen so fast you wouldnt see it.

Would a plane leave a trail like that?

[Treadhead]

Awesome video!

[Strychnine]

for somebody with screen capture skills, that video has the making of 1000's of potentially awesome desktop pics

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

[Strychnine]

Same thing edited to show the sky stationary with the earth rotating under it.

[Purpillhaze]

Very cool post!! Awesome time lapse!

[Strychnine]

A couple more time lapse, long exposure vids of the central band rising

Salida, CO




Comanche, TX

[KoopaTroopa]

That is so amazing!!! I love this stuff....

[LaserSVT]

+1 I used to love to stare up at space on that mountain. So clear up there.

[idrivea4banger]

man thats amazing.