Colliding galaxies

The images were obtained by Wright and the Keck AO team during testing of the laser guide star adaptive optics system on the 10-meter Keck II Telescope. They are the first science-quality images of distant galaxies obtained with the new system. This marks a major step for the Center for Adaptive Optics Treasury Survey (CATS), which will use adaptive optics to observe a large sample of faint, distant galaxies in the early universe, said UCLA's Larkin.

" We've worked very hard for several years taking data around bright stars. But we have been very restricted in terms of the number and types of objects that we can observe. Only with the laser can we now reach the richest and most exciting targets." Larkin said.