London, Nov 8 : Scientists have developed a morphing mirror that can be reshaped using magnets, and would help clear the blurry image of celestial objects seen by astronomers using mirrors in ground-based telescopes.
According to a report in New Scientist, the new shape-shifting mirror, developed at Laval University in Quebec, is made from a magnetic liquid – a ferrofluid – that can be easily reshaped using magnetic fields.
Ground-based telescopes currently use flexible mirrors with complex actuators underneath to correct for atmospheric distortion and keep a steady focus.
They can even match the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.