Top AO operators

AO operator hall of fame

The Spaniard The Spaniard is probably the most skilled AO operator alive. His experience and quickness is unbeaten. If you place the Spaniard in the same room with an AO, he will immediately start to tune the system, calibrate it and close the loop. His only limitation is his tongue which is always put out.

Doctor Strehl As his name suggests, Doctor Strehl's strength is to maximize Strehl ratios. It will take a while until he closes a loop, but then the results are outstanding. A limitation of Doctor Strehl is his attribute to immediatly start taking wavefront sensor data between scientific exposures, sometimes driving astronomers crazy.

Chief Nagel Chief Nagel is a moderate AO operator. His strengths are the analysis of images and real-time programming of useful tools. However, if you want to use AO for Astronomy, Chief Nagel is your man. He knows the sky better than anybody else and can not only operate an AO, but also a telescope.

S Source S Source is an unusual AO operator. He is recommended if there are no natural guide stars available. A powerful sodium laser belongs to his equipment which he can shoot upwards to create a laser guide star. Therefore, S Source is the choice for extragalactic scientists, but beware: If the galactic center can be observed, S Source is hard to control.

The Pistol The Pistol is the most experienced AO operator. Astronomers turn green with fear when hearing his name, because they know that they cannot play games with the Pistol. If the seeing is good, he will lay claim to the telescope to carry out some demonstration program. However, in the morning, the Pistol becomes very friendly, offering fine red wine to disappointed observers.

La Bruja La Bruja magically operates AO systems, infrared cameras and telescopes. Her compact physics allow her to crawl into virtually every part of the system to replace a component. Hence, she is strongly recommended for fault-prone systems. But - if you do not hire her soon, she will have submerged somewhere in southern France.

Turbo Lenz Turbo Lenz is much more attracted by a nice piece of software than by lenses and screws. Like Dr. Strehl, he is deeply in love with wavefront sensor data which he instantly uses to derive PSFs everywhere between zenith and horizon. As demonstrated by his mugshot, Turbo Lenz attracts all kinds of turbulence, not only while sitting in an airplane.

If you would like to add an AO operator to the list, please send me name, picture, and a short description of the character.

The Spaniard		The Spaniard is probably the most skilled AO operator alive. His experience and quickness is unbeaten. If you place the Spaniard in the same room with an AO, he will immediately start to tune the system, calibrate it and close the loop. His only limitation is his tongue which is always put out.
Doctor Strehl		As his name suggests, Doctor Strehl's strength is to maximize Strehl ratios. It will take a while until he closes a loop, but then the results are outstanding. A limitation of Doctor Strehl is his attribute to immediatly start taking wavefront sensor data between scientific exposures, sometimes driving astronomers crazy.
Chief Nagel		Chief Nagel is a moderate AO operator. His strengths are the analysis of images and real-time programming of useful tools. However, if you want to use AO for Astronomy, Chief Nagel is your man. He knows the sky better than anybody else and can not only operate an AO, but also a telescope.
S Source		S Source is an unusual AO operator. He is recommended if there are no natural guide stars available. A powerful sodium laser belongs to his equipment which he can shoot upwards to create a laser guide star. Therefore, S Source is the choice for extragalactic scientists, but beware: If the galactic center can be observed, S Source is hard to control.
The Pistol		The Pistol is the most experienced AO operator. Astronomers turn green with fear when hearing his name, because they know that they cannot play games with the Pistol. If the seeing is good, he will lay claim to the telescope to carry out some demonstration program. However, in the morning, the Pistol becomes very friendly, offering fine red wine to disappointed observers.
La Bruja		La Bruja magically operates AO systems, infrared cameras and telescopes. Her compact physics allow her to crawl into virtually every part of the system to replace a component. Hence, she is strongly recommended for fault-prone systems. But - if you do not hire her soon, she will have submerged somewhere in southern France.
Turbo Lenz		Turbo Lenz is much more attracted by a nice piece of software than by lenses and screws. Like Dr. Strehl, he is deeply in love with wavefront sensor data which he instantly uses to derive PSFs everywhere between zenith and horizon. As demonstrated by his mugshot, Turbo Lenz attracts all kinds of turbulence, not only while sitting in an airplane.