Published in the latest edition of Science, the researchers, including Swinburne University astronomer Michael Murphy, show how a laser frequency comb can be used to calibrate an infra-red telescope.
This will allow astronomers to more precisely measure features of distant galaxies and stars.
The comb was developed by co-author Theodor Hansch, of the Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics who is a joint winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics for the technology.
The comb emits pulses of light several femtoseconds in duration (a quadrillionth of a second) across a range of regularly spaced wavelengths.
"It just so happens when you link your laser frequency comb up to an atomic clock you know what those spacings are to an extremely high level of precision," said Murphy, who is based at the Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing.
When the technology is applied to the telescope, he explained, it gives "you a ruler that measures wavelengths and you can measure how quickly things are moving."
Murphy, who is one of the chief instigators of the research, says the team succeeded in calibrating the German Vacuum Tower Telescope, an infrared telescope used to track the movement of clouds of gas on the sun.
He says it is currently difficult to calibrate telescopes in the infrared spectrum below 10 meters per second. However by using the new technique, the team managed to achieve nine meters per second calibration.
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