Abstract: A scanning system which obtains and displays the spatial energy distribution of a high power laser beam. The beam to be examined is directed toward two knife-edge mirrors arranged to pass only a thin vertical segment of the beam and to reflect the remainder of the beam to power absorbers. The mirrors are scanned across the beam, and a scanning disk having helical slots therein samples the vertical segment, and these samples are directed by means of a paraboloid mirror toward a detector responsive to the wavelength of the laser beam. The output of the detector is placed into storage and thereafter displayed on a high resolution color monitor with different colors representing different energy levels or as a simulated three dimensional display so that an operator may obtain an indication of the spatial energy distribution of the laser beam under examination.