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Laser shoots 90 kilometres into the atmosphere and interacts with sodium, producing a bright point of light that acts as an artificial star
Used to tune telescopes, allowing astronomers to produce clearer pictures of the universe
It looks uncannily like a weapon you would expect to find on Darth Vader’s Death Star – and is so powerful it can create an artificial star.
However, rather than being operated by Stormtroopers, the laser is used to help astronomers tune a giant telescope in the Chilean desert.
Called Parla, it is used to generate an artificial star about 90 kilometres up in the atmosphere.
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