Pew Pew Pew!

Tonight was the first time that all four adaptive optics lasers on Mauna Kea were scheduled for use at the same time - the established lasers on the Keck II and Gemini North telescopes, as well as the one just entering regular service on the Subaru Telescope and the brand-new one that's just started commissioning on the Keck I telescope.

Unfortunately - and a bit ironically, since they were the only ones to send up an actual outreach person with a camera - Gemini never got the seeing conditions they needed to get their laser on sky, and even if they had, the view of Gemini's building from photographic vantage points along the driveway at Subaru would have been blocked by the terrain.  The Keck twins and Subaru, however, had a pretty decent night, and I managed to come away with a couple photos, courtesy of a bunch of exposing, some adjustment in Photoshop, and the panoramic capabilities of Hugin.