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The article was the front page of the sunday paper....

As the spotters scanned for planes, the dome of Keck 2 rotated, facing the open shutter toward different sections of space. A red-orange laser beam projected out of the observatory, stretching far into the night sky before disappearing among the stars.

Robert Lafon, laser optics engineer, worked inside Keck to verify the system was working properly.

"We wait until sunset before propagating the laser," Lafon said. "Before scientific observations can be made, engineers make sure the laser is calibrated and coordinated with the telescope."

Lafon's tests came just a few days before UCLA's Ghez arrived to use the laser guide star and adaptive optics to study a black hole 24,000 light years away. PBS's science show "NOVA," which is viewed by 10 million people in more than 100 countries, is filming the Keck laser and following Ghez's research.

"I can use the laser to study the black hole and tell exactly where it is located, how massive it is and what other forms of dark matter are around it," Ghez said.

Her research demonstrates the enormous significance of laser technology to the field of astronomy.

"When you get a dramatically better view of space with such improved resolution, it allows us to make radical leaps in knowledge and find things in our universe we didn't expect," Ghez said.