Shooting lasers into space – for science! (32c3)

Light of astronomical objects gets distorted as it passes earth’s atmosphere. Adaptive optics can correct this distortion and create images that are as sharp as those taken in space. The correction needs a bright reference star. If there is no such star nearby, an artificial Laser Guide Star can be created in the upper atmosphere. about this event: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/Fahrplan/events/7162.html