A science blog with Eric Berger

Mauna Kea: Where humans shoot lasers at the heavens




Among the highlights of the video is the periodic firing of lasers from the telescopes into the heavens. What is going on here?

Sean Goebel, who shot the video during seven nights this spring and summer, explains:



Adaptive optics has allowed for substantial improvement in the observations made by ground-based telescopes.

Eric Berger

24 Responses

  1. Jose Antonio De La Smith says:

    Cool story bro.

  2. Jac says:

    Three comments

    It’s good to know that we have lasers that could blind spy satellites if we need to. Hear that China and Russia and North Korea!

    I’ve lived in Hawaii and it is still hard to believe that there is anywhere on the islands that you could stand outside in the “freezing cold” but Manuna Kea’s peak is over 13,000 feet.

    If we could boost the output power of those lasers, we could fend off any UFOs that come to visit.

    • TruthSeeker says:

      China can hit a satellite in space, it did just that awhile ago and the US was scared. China developed nukes in 13 months, and it has air-craft carrier sinking missiles. The US is 17 trillion in debt and still can’t stop the continuing bleeding, add that to the dumbing down of the school system and anyone can see where the US is headed. If I were China I would change China’s foreign policy to collaborate with Asian countries and start an arm race with the US.

      If a UFO can travel thru space from wherever their home planet is to earth you think it would be ‘blinded’ by our lasers? Please employ critical thinking before answering this question.

    • Another Eric says:

      TruthSeeker: I think that Jac was being somewhat light-hearted with the UFO comment, but the truth is that lasers may be suitable weapons. They’ve been a staple of science fiction for some time but are making a move into reality. This isn’t just something that’s being conducted behind closed doors in a laboratory somewhere, either. The US Navy has fitted one of their ships with laser weapons and has been conducting tests with it.

    • Jac says:

      Let’s ..

      The US is afraid when China hits a satellite
      The US is going down the drain
      All powerful aliens in UFOs are unstoppable

      Sounds more like ParanoiaSeeker

    • Matt Simpson says:

      hhahahah “Truth Seeker” and “critical thinking”. How ironically funny.

  3. John Smith says:

    Awesome video! Thanks, Eric!

  4. WriterDude says:

    Just like earthlings to go shooting weapons into space, not knowing where the bullet will fall. We shouldn’t be surprised if the aliens show up pissed.

  5. Steve Gutierrez says:

    Will the lasers continue on just as the Voyager craft?

    • Keith says:

      Yes! And at 300,000 km/sec the beams will exit the solar system in just a few hours. Dispersion will limit how long the beam stays intact but the photons will continue on.

      Food for thought…
      Go outside after it clears later and look towards the south and up about 30 degrees. All alone is the bright star Fomalhaut. If one of the lasers was pointed at Fomalhaut it would take ~25 years for the beam to traverse the distance!

    • Steve C. says:

      Another interesting aspect about the laser beam is that if you wanted your beam to actually hit Fomalhaut, you would need to aim it at the point where the star would be in 25 years. The motion of the star will carry it many millions of miles from its present position.

    • IANVS says:

      “Food for thought …”

      So, apocalyptically speaking, we could expect a return google from a lonely zombie on the Golden Jubilee of Google breaking 1000, no?

  6. Anatoly says:

    Wait… didn’t this happen in that movie Battleship?

  7. Ann says:

    I’m just waiting on your report on the latest yeti findings, Eric. :-)

  8. craig says:

    The US Navy has fitted one of their ships with laser weapons and has been conducting tests with it. – Eric

    Oh joy. Always good to know we have upped the bar on death and destruction. Of course if “you” have it that’s good but if the “other guy” has it and you don’t that of course is bad. Better living through the scientific method aided and abbeted by the origins of our existance, survival at all costs.

  9. craig says:

    “Ann, don’t worry. If a Yeti is spotted, we can train those lasers on it.”

    The knee jerk response of humans to finding any new life form. Kill it and disect it for scientific study.

  10. KVolk says:

    Majestic and Beautiful….

  11. fencesitter says:

    so … space command tells them to stop the lasers at appointed and random times, what about all those guys down in Chile? they use adaptive lasers?

    does Norad say he, not now? keyhole3 maybe passing overhead?