[meteorite-list] Giant Magellan Telescope's Third Mirror Unveiled

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2013 12:47:03 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201312042047.rB4Kl31P020561_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.gmto.org/pressrelease11.html

GMT Press Release

Giant Magellan Telescope's Third Mirror Unveiled

Pasadena, Calif. - Dec. 4, 2013 - The Giant Magellan Telescope's third
primary mirror will be unveiled at the University of Arizona's Steward
Observatory Mirror Lab on December 6, 2013. The combined surface area
of the three mirrors created to date surpasses that of any existing telescope
and will help enable astronomers to peer more deeply into space than ever
before once the telescope is completed.

Primary mirrors are the heart of the modern day reflecting telescope.
They capture and focus photons coming from space to help construct images
of the universe and collect complex spectra. Generally, the larger the
surface area of the primary mirrors, the more photons they can capture,
leading to better images and improved data. The Giant Magellan Telescope
will offer the best image resolution ever seen to explore deep space.

"The Giant Magellan Telescope will be one of the most powerful tools for
approaching some of society's most profound questions: where did we come
from, where are we going, and are we alone in the Universe?" said Patrick
McCarthy, Giant Magellan Telescope Project Director. "The technology used
to design and construct the telescope is breathtaking, but the answers
it may provide as to the beginnings of time itself will be staggering."

The first of a new generation of "extremely large telescopes," or "ELTs,"
the Giant Magellan Telescope will have a mirror array consisting of seven
27-foot- (8.4-meter-) diameter mirror segments. The telescope is anticipated
to begin operation in 2020 with four mirror segments completed, making
it the largest telescope in the world. When its final stages of construction
are complete, it will have ten times the resolution of the Hubble Space
Telescope.

Each of the Giant Magellan Telescope's mirrors is the product of cutting
edge technology and processing. Cast in a custom-built rotating furnace
that reaches approximately 2,100?F, they each weigh about 20 tons, yet
their internal architecture features an intricate honeycomb pattern that
allows them to regulate temperature quickly while remaining extremely
rigid. Additionally, each mirror is meticulously polished and evaluated
to create a surface that is so smooth that no imperfection is taller or
deeper than a twentieth of a wavelength of light - one millionth of an
inch. Details of the mirror making process can be seen here.

"The mirror surface is so smooth that if we took one 27 foot mirror and
spread it out from coast to coast across the U.S., the height of the tallest
mountain on that mirror would be only half an inch - an engineering masterpiece,"
said Wendy Freedman, Director of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution
for Science and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Giant Magellan
Telescope Organization.

The third mirror--dubbed "GMT3"--was cast in August at the Steward Observatory
Mirror Lab, the only facility in the world capable of creating mirrors
of this size. The University of Arizona is one of ten international partners
who are collaborating to build the Giant Magellan Telescope. Collectively,
the partners represent more than 1,000 years of astronomy experience.
Their accomplishments include the construction of past record- breaking
telescopes and the cultivation of some of astronomy's most brilliant minds.

"Once fully operational, this telescope will provide discoveries for the
next 50 years," added Freedman. "These huge mirrors are critical steps
along the path to deployment, and then we can open the floodgates of research."

The Giant Magellan Telescope will be constructed at the Las Campanas Observatory
in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, where it will be able to work
synergistically with other astronomical instruments and surveys. The program
to fund and build the Giant Magellan Telescope is a global first, targeting
a total of $1 billion from mostly private, philanthropic donors, with
some contributions coming from government agencies around the world.

The Giant Magellan Telescope will be the first of its kind and the largest
privately led telescope initiative in history, igniting a new era of discovery
and unlocking answers to some of the most fundamental questions of humanity,
including whether or not life exists on other planets and how the universe
began. Astronomers will also use it to better understand how planets and
galaxies form and to help find answers to the mysteries of dark matter
and dark energy.

The event is supported by the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory
and College of Science. The Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO)
manages the GMT project on behalf of its international partners: Astronomy
Australia Ltd., The Australian National University, the Carnegie Institution
for Science, Harvard University, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science
Institute, the Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, the University
of Arizona, the University of Chicago, and the University of Texas at
Austin. For more information about the Giant Magellan Telescope, please
visit www.gmto.org.

Contacts:

Davin Malasarn, External Affairs, GMTO
dmalasarn at gmto.org, (626) 204-0529

Angie Valdericeda, Development Coordinator, GMTO
angie at gmto.org, (626) 204-0528

Michael Long, Vice President, GMTO
mlong at gmto.org, (626) 204-0555

Daniel Petrocelli, Director of Development, University of Arizona
dpetrocelli at email.arizona.edu, (520) 626-8792

Media Contact:

Jacqueline Efron, Zeno Group for GMTO
jacqueline.efron at zenogroup.com, o: (650) 801-0942 ? m: (650) 600-2448
Received on Wed 04 Dec 2013 03:47:03 PM PST