New Technology Telescope Actively Corrects for Misalignments

Of the 15 optical instruments scanning the heavens from the La Silla Observatory in Chile, the recently completed New Technology Telescope is neither the biggest nor the most expensive. But its resolution does exceed that of its neighbors. It owes its sharp images to so‐called active optics that adjust during observations for distortions due to maladjustments or misalignments. Astronomers are quite excited about the fresh detail in pictures emerging from NTT as its observing program gets under way. They were especially impressed that the telescope performed so well from the moment it saw its first light. (The telescope was dedicated in March after one year of commissioning.)