making a star with a laser?

Space Laser Creates Artificial Star

Not quite as neat as it sounds but a 4 watt laser and a lot of optic talk. Figured this was the right forum as opposed to Cafe.

Astronomers have been doing this for many years now...using a laser to determine the amount of chromatic aberration (visual distortion caused by various layers of the earth's atmosphere) in conjunction with computers that quickly activate servos attached to mirror segments in a composite mirror (which looks much like a honeycomb in that it has many small, individual sections). This process has been a great benefit to the astronomy community, as it reduces distortion and makes otherwise unviewable distant objects more clear and defined.