Reduction of laser spot elongation in adaptive optics

Adaptive optics systems measure the wave front to be corrected by use of a reference source, a star, or a laser beacon. Such laser guide stars are a few kilometers long, and when observed near the edges of large telescopes they appear elongated. This limits their utility significantly. However, with more sophisticated launch optics their shape and length can be controlled. We propose to string around the rim of a telescope a number of small telescopes that will add laser beams in the scattering medium to create a compact spot. The method could also be adapted for ocular adaptive optics.