Long Exposure

I took this image in March 2019 at Paranal Observatory in Northern Chile, where I work. The image shows four laser of the adaptive optics system of one of our telescopes, aiming at the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting our own galaxy. The lasers excite sodium atoms locate in a layer 80-90 km high, creating four artificial "stars". We then monitor how these artificial stars twinkle, and send instructions in real time to a deformable mirror that changes its shape several hundred times per second. This allows us to counteract the blur induced by the atmospheric turbulence, delivering tack sharp images. EXIF: Canon 6D + Tamron 100-400mm at 100mm, f/4.5, ISO 6400, stack of 15 x 10 secs exposures.