This task is not like shooting at the broad side of a barn: the reflectors are incredibly tiny, and even though their locations are known, the sheer distance between them and us makes every hit a success. In a typical lunar ranging experiment, a telescope collimates a laser (thus achieving a small divergence) and shoots the beam in the direction of the Moon, trying to hit the area of the reflector. When the distances increase, lasers reach their limits while still maintaining an edge over traditional light sources.Ĭonsider the process of lunar ranging, the measurement of the distance between Earth and Moon through the reflection of laser pulses on the reflectors left by space missions on the surface of our satellite. ![]() Say this to an astronomer, and he will surely disagree. Use this calculator to get the size and location of your Gaussian laser beam waist at focus, as well as the Rayleigh. ![]() The lasers we see normally operate at relatively small distances, and we may be bound to think that they can propagate for an arbitrarily long distance without losing their characteristic "dot" shape.
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