Refractive Surgery Blog

Monday, August 27, 2007

We're Watching


On August 24, 2007, NASA released newly expanded images of the Helix nebula taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectacular image that looks like a large eye is actually that of a dying star unraveling into space. Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have been able to map the six-light-year-wide nebula and have found what appears to be a planetary system that survived the explosion that created the above image. The Spitzer Space Telescope image was released on the fourth anniversary of its' launch in 2003.

Ophthalmologists have been very interested in the space telescopes because many of the optical challenges faced and overcome by NASA scientists have been applied to modern refractive surgery. The Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes are considered to be NASA's "Great Observatories."

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posted by Stuart Lewis, MD at 10:54 AM

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