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StrawberryEiri t1_j22266q wrote

If trans-Neptunian objects are too dim to see with most telescopes, why is it not an option to just... light them up? Wouldn't a powerful laser from Earth be able to illuminate a small corner of the sky for observation?

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atomfullerene t1_j26ej5d wrote

Radar astronomy is the closest equivalent I'm aware of...you basically send out a radio pulse and get the reflection back. I don't think you could make it work effectively with visible light, the amount of illumination (and therefore energy) you would need would be huge.

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StrawberryEiri t1_j26mlwp wrote

I thought it could be just for a moment, or a few seconds, like a camera flash, but is the large energy consumption because you'd need a long exposure, and thus, you'd need to run the laser for a super long time, to get an image?

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