Starfire Optical Range, New Mexico

A military observatory and space R&D lab next to the Manzano Mountains, on the grounds of Kirtland Air Force Base, near Albuquerque. Operated by the Air Force Research Lab's Directed Energy Directorate. The facility is a Satellite Laser Ranging station, which uses lasers to map, monitor, and characterize other nation's satellites. The facility was the primary site for adaptive optics research, a method for compensating for the refractive effect of the atmosphere. Developed originally to be able to more clearly see enemy satellites, adaptive optics uses lasers to create and read a steady spot in the upper atmosphere. People say that green lasers can occasionally be seen pointing up into the sky from the observatory's domes.