Prospects for the William Herschel Telescope

The development strategy for the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) in recent years has focused on the development of adaptive optics instrumentation, with the ultimate aim to provide useful high-spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopic capability for the widest possible scientific use. The scientific exploitation of AO with natural guide stars is severely constrained by the limited presence of bright guide stars for wavefront sensing. Use of a laser beacon as an alternative means to provide a source for wavefront sensing has the potential of drastically improving the sky coverage for AO. This paper summarized the status of the development of the GLAS laser beacon project at the WHT. Furthermore, the future exploitation of the WHT is placed in the wider context of collaboration and coordination within Europe.