
Solar telescope catches the sky's twinkle
By day in Chile's Atacama Desert, the air shimmers with heat like the haze above a hot skillet. Sunlight passing through this shimmer begins to dance and flicker. Astronomers call this airy trembling "seeing" — and it keeps telescopes from getting a sharp view of the stars.
To fight this nuisance, engineers have built a special instrument — a solar seeing monitor.