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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO
Published on: February 12, 2013
Visible wavelength astro-comb
Andrew J Benedick1, Guoqing Chang, Jonathan R Birge
1Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. andrew_b@mit.edu
Abstract:
We demonstrate a tunable laser frequency comb operating near 420 nm with mode spacing of 20-50 GHz, usable bandwidth of 15 nm and output power per line of ~20 nW. Using the TRES spectrograph at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, we characterize this system to an accuracy below 1m/s, suitable for calibrating high-resolution astrophysical spectrographs used, e.g., in exoplanet studies.
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