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UCLA Team Uses Photonic Tech to Measure Distant Star

10/24/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)-led team achieved the sharpest measurement of the star Beta Canis Minoris, 162 light-years away, using a photonic lantern to boost resolution fivefold without larger telescopes.
The photonic lantern splits light into channels, preserving details lost by imaging.
The team found the hydrogen gas disk is lopsided, raising questions for astrophysicists.
Their results, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, show photonic tech's promise for astronomy.

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Story summary

A University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)-led team achieved the sharpest measurement of the star Beta Canis Minoris, 162 light-years away, using a photonic lantern to boost resolution fivefold without larger telescopes.
The photonic lantern splits light into channels, preserving details lost by imaging.
The team found the hydrogen gas disk is lopsided, raising questions for astrophysicists.
Their results, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, show photonic tech's promise for astronomy.