Guide Star Facility

!%Toptica Photonics Inc.%! of Victor, N.Y., has won an approximately $6.4 million contract from the European Southern Observatory to develop four continuous-wave, high-power laser guide stars for its Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile. The guide stars, to be developed by Toptica and its Montreal-based partner MPB Communications, will be installed at the telescope in September 2013 and will be based on amplified and frequency-doubled diode laser systems. The contract is financed in part by European funds in the framework of the EC FP7 Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy.