"Adaptive Optics at Palomar"

   Eric Bloemhof, Caltech

A high-order adaptive optics system has been in operation on the 200-inch
Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory for more than two years.  I will 
describe the instrument and its performance, present some scientific 
results from the first few observing seasons, and briefly discuss some 
novel observing techniques that we have explored.  Scientific examples 
will include imaging of gas-giant planets, coronagraphic imaging of faint 
companions, high-dynamic-range maps of circumstellar environments, and 
searches for shock-excited emission in outflows from young stellar objects.
Technical ideas will include a new insight into the spatial distribution
of remnant speckles in a highly corrected imaging system, which may allow 
partial suppression of the speckle noise that limits searches for faint
companions.