| 990f_K2LGS Zodiacal Light: | ||
| view in FULL SCREEN toggle F11 KECK OBSERVATORY 2007 April 5 MONITORS: VIEWING THIS IMAGE Some images fare better than others on the huge diversity of computer monitor screens. Because this photograph has a broad and subtle gray-to-black gradient across the sky, monitors unable to display a full and seamless grayscale range from true white to true black will not accurately reproduce delicate transitions in this image. This will be particularly true for LCD displays. OBSERVING PROGRAM: Using the Keck II 10-meter telescope, Caltech astronomer Nick Scoville is observing remotely from a control room at Keck Headquarters in Kamuela. He and his colleagues Peter Capak (Caltech), James Larkin (UCLA), and Shelley Wright (UCLA) are looking at some of the most energetic objects in the universe—quasi-stellar objects, otherwise known as quasars. A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus harboring a supermassive black hole which is devouring prodigious amounts of matter. The team is hoping to detect as-yet-unseen host galaxies that spawned the highly visible quasars in the early universe. It is anticipated that Larkin’s innovative OSIRIS spectrograph will separate the relatively bright quasar point source light from the much more subtle light emitted by its host galaxy. OSIRIS was designed by Larkin to work specifically with the Keck AO system and to dissect tiny portions of the sky. It can analyze light from over 3000 adjacent regions simultaneously, allowing astronomers to measure the chemical makeup of objects, as well as rotations and more complex motions over an extended area. Nick Scoville and Shelley Wright explain the program in more detail: A VIEW FROM MAUNA KEA ~ SACRED MOUNTAIN OF HAWAI‘I Mauna Kea is one of the most inspiring but challenging landscapes I have ever attempted to photograph. There were many failed attempts. This image was badly underexposed and borderline at best, in large part because it was necessary to close the shutter when the Keck II dome and laser changed positions halfway through the hoped-for fifteen-minute exposure. (Long exposures are often a gamble due to dome and telescope movements. Sometimes blurred domes in the resulting image look fine to my eye, sometimes not. Circumstances on this night were such that I decided to stop the exposure. Was it the "right" thing to do? I'll never know ... ) As a result, the film was etched with grain and even darker than the night. But the colorful beacons of laser, stars, and car traced a stark composition on the acetate, and none of my other images so nearly recorded the stunning Zodiacal Light in the way that I had seen it. Thus a heavy hand was applied in the digital darkroom to resuscitate the image and to overcome near-fatal deficiency in capture. I have tried to restore the raw image to convey what I experienced on the mountain. Read more about LASER GUIDE STAR: Terrestrial Photography. This is primarily a discussion about the creation of two of my 2007 Keck Observatory laser images that illustrate author Robert Irion's feature article "Homing in on Black Holes" in the 2008 April Smithsonian Magazine. Although the image on this page did not appear in the magazine, logistics of photographing the laser still apply. COPYRIGHT All images and text are property of Laurie Hatch Photography; unauthorized use is a violation of copyright law. You are welcome to email me with your useage requests. FOR MORE INFORMATION Keck Adaptive Optics / Laser Guide Star ‘Imiloa: Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station The photographer thanks the astronomers, and Keck and VIS staffs for their invaluable assistance and collaboration in producing this photograph. FINE ART PRINTS: PHOTO GIFTS:
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