adaptive optics

American  

noun

1. the branch of optics that compensates for image distortions, especially by means of flexible mirrors or membranes.

---

adaptive optics British  

noun

1. a technique used to increase the resolution of a ground-based astronomical telescope by counteracting the effects of the atmosphere on the image. A deforming mirror in the light path of the telescope maintains a pointlike image of the celestial body using either a real star or a laser beam as a reference

---

Example Sentences

Dr Elise Vernet is an adaptive optics specialist at ESO and has been overseeing development of the five giant mirrors that will gather and channel light to the telescope’s measuring equipment.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2024

In 2023, it was installed, together with its complementary near-infrared instrument SHARK-NIR, at the LBT to fully take advantage of the telescope's outstanding adaptive optics system.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

Astronomers solve this problem by filtering starlight with an item known as a coronagraph, which blocks out the bright central area of the star, and by keeping images steady and crisp with adaptive optics technology.

From Scientific American • May 11, 2023

Guyon will explain how adaptive optics enable ground-based telescopes to become better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

From Washington Post • Oct. 2, 2021

With adaptive optics, ground-based telescopes can achieve resolutions of 0.1 arcsecond or a little better in the infrared region of the spectrum.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016