Laser guide star: monitoring and light pollution

Nancy Ageorges; R. Michael Redfern; Francoise Delplancke; Creidhe O'Sullivan

doi:10.1117/12.390336

7 July 2000 Laser guide star: monitoring and light pollution

Nancy Ageorges, R. Michael Redfern, Francoise Delplancke, Creidhe O'Sullivan

Proceedings Volume 4007, Adaptive Optical Systems Technology; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390336
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2000, Munich, Germany

Abstract

This paper summarizes three years of observations of the resonant optical backscatter of laser, used to produce a mesospheric sodium-layer laser guide star for an adaptive optics system. Observations were obtained from a neighboring telescope. The aim of this work was two-fold: to study the Na plume (altitude and profile variations) and to study the Rayleigh cone in order to achieve scattering measurements relevant to the light pollution created by a sodium laser guide star. We report on the short-term characteristics of the sodium layer and stress the consequences of these variations for Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System operations. From the measurements of the background intensity measured while observing the laser guide star and the top of the Rayleigh cone, we can derive information on the light pollution produced by the laser as well as the resulting implications for an observatory laser management policy. Information on the laser intensity, size and shape along the Rayleigh cone are also presented.

Citation Download Citation

Nancy Ageorges, R. Michael Redfern, Francoise Delplancke, and Creidhe O'Sullivan "Laser guide star: monitoring and light pollution", Proc. SPIE 4007, Adaptive Optical Systems Technology, (7 July 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390336

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