From the 8m Subaru Telescope to a thirty meter telescope

principles and development of adaptive optics

Abstract

The National Astronomical Observatory (NAOJ) constructed the Subaru Telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii in 1999. The 8m primary mirror is actively controlled to provide the best imaging quality ever achieved. The NAOJ further developed Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics to cancel, in real time, atmospheric disturbances to achieve diffraction limited imaging, which is 10 times sharper than the natural imaging. The operating principle of the adaptive optics, the actual devices used, and the new challenges of adaptive optics even in fields other than astronomy are reviewed. Finally, the project outline and the science objectives of the Thirty Meter Telescope, which NAOJ has started as a multinational project for astronomy in the 2020s, are described.