Chilean astronomers claim to have created the most powerful artificial stars.
Four powerful lasers have lit up the sky in Chile – creating artificial guide stars to help with space exploration.
The system has been switched on at the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope.
The 22-watt beams are fired skywards, making sodium atoms in the upper atmosphere glow so that they look like real stars. Each of the laser beams is about 30cm wide.
The artificial stars allow the telescope to compensate for blurring caused by the Earth’s atmosphere, helping to create sharper images.
Source: Sky News