Welcome

Welcome to the Center of Adaptive Optics of Valparaíso (CAOVA). We are a group of researchers that aims to solve research  to improve the challenges that comes with the presence of the atmosphere, among which can mainly be mentioned the turbulence and the issues to obtain high resolution images of what we see in outer space due to the presence of the atmosphere.

Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) will heavily rely on Adaptive Optics (AO) to compensate for the atmospheric turbulence that limits its potential for a superb spatial resolution. Despite the open challenges for the application of AO for ELTs, and although Chile will host the largest share of ELTs in the world, the contributions from Chile in terms of technological advancements and availability of skilled engineers in AO are alarmingly scarce.

The broader impacts of the CAOVa will reside in the development of new advancements in AO research for ELTs, the attraction of recent graduates in astronomical instrumentation abroad (BecasChile scholarship holders), the training of the next generation of AO engineers and
scientists—made in Chile—to fulfil the expected demands of the ELTs, and the growth of interest in STEM from K-12 students.

Please, know more about us in this page and don’t hesitate to contact us for any further inquiries.

Kind regards,

CAOVA Team