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The future of extreme adaptive optics (exAO) lies in higher fidelity corrections at shorter wavelengths. While most AO systems operate at ~ kHz timescales, earth atmosphere – especially as seen through visible light – moves faster, driven by wind layers that blow an AO correction into history before it can be applied. However, with predictive wavefront control, linear algorithms can learn and predict where the atmosphere will be, not only reducing atmospheric speckles in current observations, but also opening up the sky to targets that would otherwise be too faint to be natural guidestars. Keck Observatory, with two 10 meter segmented telescopes, is the largest facilitized AO-fed observatory; Keck-AO not only improves current science but acts as a pathfinder for future ELTs. I will discuss two projects in support of pushing Keck in the direction of exAO: work to implement predictive wavefront control at Keck-II and efforts to unpack the current performance of Keck-II AO in the visible with the ORKID instrument. |
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