The attainment of diffraction limited imaging is the most important challenge in ground based astronomical instrumentation. It will allow the investigation of qualitatively new astronomy and extend the sensitivity for detecting point objects by more than 3 magnitudes using existing telescopes. The essential requirements of astronomers are met, at least in the infrared, by an adaptive optics system using a laser beam to produce an artificial star in the upper atmosphere (LASTAR). This system will be able to access much of the sky and carry out photometry over the 256 X 256 pixel areas of the new infrared arrays. This award will support development of such a system for use on the...
