Lines of instrumentation: Adaptive Optics

Adaptive Optics

This line includes instrumental projects designed to measure and correct the disturbances introduced by the atmosphere on the light received by the scientific instruments. We develop highly specialized devices to measure and characterize the atmospheric turbulence and also specific instruments that, placed in the telescope, are able to compensate the effects of the atmosphere and deliver a corrected beam to the scientific instrument.

  • Project
    Laser Guide Star with OGS
    The aim of this project is to create a sodium Laser Guide Star (LGS) using the 1m telescope OGS and a sodium dye laser. LGSs are needed by the Adaptive Optics...
  • Grant
    Laser Launch Telescope for Laser Guide Star
    The aim of this project is to provide a Laser Launch Telescope for the Laser Guide Star Facility of the Adaptive Optics system of the GTC telescope. This will...
  • Project
    Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics for EST
    IAC is developing a Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) bench, with the purpose of demonstrating in laboratory solutions of some of the main problems related...
  • Capability
    National and international relations in the field of large scientific facilities with other public and private entities
    One of the missions of the IAC is to point out the value of the international nature of the center, by improving the relationships that are already underway...
  • News
    New data obtained about the biggest and one of the most complete Einstein rings
    In December 2020 a team from the European Space Agency (ESA) published an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of GAL-CLUS-022058s, the biggest and...
  • News
    NORBERT HUBIN: “The laser star guide system with Adaptive Optics which allow us to have much better sky coverage and better telescope performance”
    “Although giant telescopes are under construction, astronomical images with good resolution cannot be obtained unless they use Adaptive Optics”, warns Norbert...
  • Project
    Óptica Adaptativa con FPGAs
    A project for the technological demonstration of the use of FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) in the field of adaptive optics systems.
  • News
    Photonic integrated circuits for astronomy: A formal description of an integrated photonics-based wavefront sensor (IP-WFS)
    Solar wavefront sensing has been a challenge for astrophysical instrumentalists, due to the low contrast between the Sun and the sky background compared to...
  • Gallery
    Placement of the four legs of the test cryostat in the AIV room of the IAC
    Placement of the four legs of the test cryostat in the AIV room of the IAC. Credit: Inés Bonet (IAC)