US Extremely Large Telescope Program Ranked As Top Astro2020 Initiative
The 2020 United States Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, a foundational report that outlines strategic scientific priorities and investments over the next ten years, prioritized the US Extremely Large Telescope Program as mission critical for advancing our understanding of the universe.
PASADENA, CA — The highly anticipated decadal survey, Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (Astro2020), presented comprehensive recommendations for making strategic federal investments critical to achieving transformational advances in US astronomy over the next decade. The report ranked the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) as the top frontier project for ground-based observatories, recommending federal support for the final construction stages of the Giant Magellan Telescope. The recommendation detailed that building an extremely large telescope “is absolutely essential if the United States is to maintain a position as a leader in ground-based astronomy.”
“We are incredibly honored to be ranked as a top priority in the decadal survey and are grateful for the many scientists who engaged in the process,” said Robert Shelton, president of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “This endorsement solidifies the scientific momentum that our founding consortium of international universities and research institutions pioneered years ago. After all, we designed the Giant Magellan Telescope to discover the unknown, and it’s the unimaginable discoveries that could change humanity forever.”
The Giant Magellan Telescope was evaluated in Astro2020 as a core partner of the US-ELTP. The goal of the program is for the NSF’s NOIRLab to provide US-based astronomers with full sky observing access to the Giant Magellan Telescope in the Southern Hemisphere and the Thirty Meter Telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. The US-ELTP was viewed by Astro2020 as a visionary program that will enable collaborative, inclusive, and transformational research in nearly all areas of astrophysics — from understanding the fundamental nature of the universe to the search for life on distant exoplanets. Read the US-ELTP’s official statement on Astro2020.
“We are proud to be part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program and its bold vision to provide full-sky access to the astronomical community,” said Walter Massey, board chair of the Giant Magellan Telescope and former director of the National Science Foundation. “A heartfelt congratulations to both the Thirty Meter Telescope and NOIRLab. This strong recommendation is the result of many years of hard work. It is a great time to support and join our inspirational project and help secure access to these amazing telescopes for decades to come.”
The 24.5-meter aperture Giant Magellan Telescope is positioned to put a federal investment to good use. Construction is well underway at Las Campanas Observatory at the southern edge of Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to explore the heavens. The project has completed hard rock excavation for the foundation and support infrastructure, cast six of seven primary mirrors, begun fabricating its first adaptive secondary mirror, and has already secured a subaward from the National Science Foundation to accelerate the prototyping and testing of some of the most powerful optical and infrared technologies ever engineered.
Astro2020 highlights the Giant Magellan Telescope’s 368 square meter light collecting power, unmatched 25-arcminute field of view, advanced adaptive optics system, and high-resolution spectroscopic and diffraction-limited imaging capabilities. The report emphasizes that the “capabilities can be brought to bear on nearly all of the important science questions laid out by this decadal survey, across all three of our key science themes.” These inspiring scientific priorities include pathways to habitable worlds, new windows on the dynamic universe, and drivers of galaxy growth. The recommendation also stated that the US-ELTP “provides observational capabilities unmatched in space or the ground and opens an enormous discovery space for new observations and discoveries not yet anticipated.”
The Giant Magellan Telescope’s international consortium is deeply gratified by the enormous global support received from the scientific and philanthropic communities. The consortium would also like to recognize the ngVLA and CMB-S4 teams on their strong Astro2020 endorsements. Together, the recommendations will help build vibrant opportunities in astronomy and contribute to significant science discoveries for the 2030s and beyond.
The Giant Magellan Telescope is the work of an international consortium of leading universities and research institutions representing five countries. To learn more, visit gmto.org.
Media Contact Ryan Kallabis, Director of Communications Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation rkallabis@gmto.org +1-(626)-204-0554 MultimediaMultimedia assets and media usage statement available here.
Background information on the US-ELTP is available here.
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Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s
For more than sixty years the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey has presented comprehensive recommendations for making strategic federal investments that are critical to achieving transformational advances in US astronomy. For the 2020s, the Giant Magellan Telescope was evaluated as a core partner in the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) and is issuing this statement:
The US Extremely Large Telescope Program is grateful for the Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy & Astrophysics for the 2020s Decadal Survey process and is now reviewing the recommendations in detail. The Decadal Survey has a rich history of driving technological innovation and expanding scientific boundaries, and we are proud to be part of that story. Our visionary program aims to provide US astronomers with nationally-funded observing access to the entire sky. The program consists of three partners: NSF’s NOIRLab and the two organizations building the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope.
We thank the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for leading the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey, and to all members of our community who wrote white papers, sat on panels, provided expert input, and devoted time to the Decadal Survey process. We would also like to honor the international partners whose early and ongoing contributions have been crucial in conceiving, designing, and building the Giant Magellan Telescope and Thirty Meter Telescope.
We will be issuing detailed statements about the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey recommendations soon.
To learn more about the US-ELTP and read our official statement, visit noirlab.edu/us-eltp
To learn more about the Pathways to Discovery report, visit the National Academies website.
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Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s
For more than sixty years the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey has presented comprehensive recommendations for making strategic federal investments that are critical to achieving transformational advances in US astronomy. For the 2020s, the Giant Magellan Telescope was evaluated as a core partner in the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) and is issuing this statement:
The US Extremely Large Telescope Program is grateful for the Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy & Astrophysics for the 2020s Decadal Survey process and is now reviewing the recommendations in detail. The Decadal Survey has a rich history of driving technological innovation and expanding scientific boundaries, and we are proud to be part of that story. Our visionary program aims to provide US astronomers with nationally-funded observing access to the entire sky. The program consists of three partners: NSF’s NOIRLab and the two organizations building the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope.
We thank the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for leading the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey, and to all members of our community who wrote white papers, sat on panels, provided expert input, and devoted time to the Decadal Survey process. We would also like to honor the international partners whose early and ongoing contributions have been crucial in conceiving, designing, and building the Giant Magellan Telescope and Thirty Meter Telescope.
We will be issuing detailed statements about the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey recommendations soon.
To learn more about the US-ELTP and read our official statement, visit noirlab.edu/us-eltp
To learn more about the Pathways to Discovery report, visit the National Academies website.
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A Significant Milestone
The GMT Science Case has evolved over the course of the project. It has been influenced by the 2010 Decadal Survey’s report “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics” but has been updated to reflect new discoveries and scientific priorities. The 2018 version of the GMT Science Book is now available. The GMT Science Book focuses on those areas of frontier science best explored with a large aperture ground-based telescope. The book describes the transformative impact that the GMT will have on areas spanning observational astrophysics—from exoplanets around neighboring stars to the formation of the first, most distant stars, galaxies, and black holes in the universe. The first chapter also describes the GMT itself, explaining its unique design and capabilities, including the first-generation instrument suite that has been chosen to maximize the GMT’s scientific impact during early operations. This book is accessible to a wide audience.
Exoplanet Science Strategy – NASEM report 2018The GMT Science Requirements for the telescope and associated instruments and facilities flow from the scientific priorities listed in the GMT Science Book. These requirements are used to optimize the telescope design and development process, and to define the goals and requirements for the GMT first generation instruments.
This timelapse shows several stages of the mirror casting process for segment five, including creating the light-weighted mirror mold, loading nearly 20 tons of glass into the mold, and the furnace spinning during “high fire.” Credit: Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, The University of Arizona and the Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation. Find more details in the Science BookThe GMT Science Case has evolved over the course of the project. It has been influenced by the 2010 Decadal Survey’s report “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics” but has been updated to reflect new discoveries and scientific priorities. The 2018 version of the GMT Science Book is now available. The GMT Science Book focuses on those areas of frontier science best explored with a large aperture ground-based telescope. The book describes the transformative impact that the GMT will have on areas spanning observational astrophysics—from exoplanets around neighboring stars to the formation of the first, most distant stars, galaxies, and black holes in the universe. The first chapter also describes the GMT itself, explaining its unique design and capabilities, including the first-generation instrument suite that has been chosen to maximize the GMT’s scientific impact during early operations. This book is accessible to a wide audience.
The Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirror segment five during reveal. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation. The Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirrors are fabricated with high-purity, low-expansion, borosilicate glass (called E6 glass) from the Ohara Corporation of Japan. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation. Media Contact Ryan Kallabis Director of Communications rkallabis@gmto.org (626) 204-0554 Multimedia Resources Download the resources • 1.2 GBMultimedia from the release and media usage statement are available from the GMTO Corporation here and from the University of Arizona here until March 20, 2021. Assets may not appear uncredited. Unless otherwise noted in media usage statement, credit line must be given as follows: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporatio
Weizmann Institute of Science Joins Giant Magellan Telescope, a Top Priority for Science Worldwide
Renowned research institution will advance the world’s most powerful telescope, strengthening international desire to see farther into space with more detail than ever before.
PASADENA, CA — On September 14, 2021, the GMTO Corporation welcomed the Weizmann Institute of Science into its international consortium of distinguished universities and research institutions building the Giant Magellan Telescope. The new partnership reinforces that completing the largest and most powerful Gregorian optical-infrared telescope ever engineered is a top priority for the global scientific community. The unprecedented abilities of the Giant Magellan Telescope coupled with the Weizmann Institute of Science’s world-leading scientific expertise and resources in astrophysics will revolutionize the way humanity understands the universe and our place in it.
GMTO Corporation international consortium map
“The addition of the Weizmann Institute of Science is a giant win for our international consortium,” said Walter Massey, board chair of the GMTO Corporation and former director of the National Science Foundation. “We just became stronger and more capable. We are now one step closer to pointing the world’s largest mirrors toward the heavens and unlocking its many cosmic secrets.”
The Weizmann Institute of Science is a distinguished multidisciplinary research institution from Israel. Their Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics promotes research in nearly all aspects of astronomy, expanding the Giant Magellan Telescope’s research capabilities by capitalizing on the Center’s outstanding team of astrophysicists and benefiting from renowned Israeli innovation. Before officially joining the GMTO Corporation, faculty at the Weizmann Institute of Science helped develop one of the first scientific instruments for the telescope, a spectrograph that is designed to study Earth-like planets around solar-type stars. Based on the institute’s leadership in astrophysics, particle physics and space mission design, the Weizmann Institute of Science, through its flagship initiative, aims to provide new levels of insight into the central questions of fundamental physics, while contributing to wide-ranging practical applications. The Giant Magellan Telescope is critical to the initiative.
“Joining the GMTO consortium is a huge leap forward for the Weizmann Institute of Science,” said Professor Avishay Gal-Yam, head of the Deloro Center for Space and Optics at the Weizmann Institute. “It is a privilege to join a global team on the forefront of astrophysics research, which will allow us to accelerate our own observatory capabilities, develop instruments that will elevate the way the world’s leading astrophysics teams explore the universe and share expertise with the top partners in the field of astrophysics.”
Construction of the next-generation telescope is well underway on Las Campanas Peak at the southern edge of Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to explore the universe. It will use seven of the world’s largest mirrors and the most advanced adaptive optics technology to see billions of lightyears into the universe with ten times the resolution of the famed Hubble Space Telescope. This extraordinary image clarity will enable scientists around the globe to obtain new clues to the fundamental nature and evolution of the universe — including the search for life on distant exoplanets.
The Weizmann Institute of Science is the thirteenth member of the GMTO Corporation, joining Arizona State University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Carnegie Institution for Science, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP, Harvard University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, and the University of Chicago. The international consortium anticipates commissioning the Giant Magellan Telescope in the late 2020s.
To learn more about the Weizmann Institute for Science, visit weizmann.ac.il. To learn more about the GMTO Corporation, the international nonprofit organization building the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org.
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Media Contacts
Ryan Kallabis, Director of Communications
Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation
+1-(626)-204-0554, rkallabis@gmto.org
Dana Bernstein, Head of Communications
Weizmann Institute of Science
+972-(0)-8-934-3857, dana.bernstein@weizmann.ac.il
Multimedia
Multimedia assets and media usage statement available here until November 1, 2021.
Weizmann Institute of Science Joins Giant Magellan Telescope, a Top Priority for Science Worldwide
Renowned research institution will advance the world’s most powerful telescope, strengthening international desire to see farther into space with more detail than ever before.
PASADENA, CA — On September 14, 2021, the GMTO Corporation welcomed the Weizmann Institute of Science into its international consortium of distinguished universities and research institutions building the Giant Magellan Telescope. The new partnership reinforces that completing the largest and most powerful Gregorian optical-infrared telescope ever engineered is a top priority for the global scientific community. The unprecedented abilities of the Giant Magellan Telescope coupled with the Weizmann Institute of Science’s world-leading scientific expertise and resources in astrophysics will revolutionize the way humanity understands the universe and our place in it.
GMTO Corporation international consortium map“The addition of the Weizmann Institute of Science is a giant win for our international consortium,” said Walter Massey, board chair of the GMTO Corporation and former director of the National Science Foundation. “We just became stronger and more capable. We are now one step closer to pointing the world’s largest mirrors toward the heavens and unlocking its many cosmic secrets.”
The Weizmann Institute of Science is a distinguished multidisciplinary research institution from Israel. Their Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics promotes research in nearly all aspects of astronomy, expanding the Giant Magellan Telescope’s research capabilities by capitalizing on the Center’s outstanding team of astrophysicists and benefiting from renowned Israeli innovation. Before officially joining the GMTO Corporation, faculty at the Weizmann Institute of Science helped develop one of the first scientific instruments for the telescope, a spectrograph that is designed to study Earth-like planets around solar-type stars. Based on the institute’s leadership in astrophysics, particle physics and space mission design, the Weizmann Institute of Science, through its flagship initiative, aims to provide new levels of insight into the central questions of fundamental physics, while contributing to wide-ranging practical applications. The Giant Magellan Telescope is critical to the initiative.
“Joining the GMTO consortium is a huge leap forward for the Weizmann Institute of Science,” said Professor Avishay Gal-Yam, head of the Deloro Center for Space and Optics at the Weizmann Institute. “It is a privilege to join a global team on the forefront of astrophysics research, which will allow us to accelerate our own observatory capabilities, develop instruments that will elevate the way the world’s leading astrophysics teams explore the universe and share expertise with the top partners in the field of astrophysics.”
Construction of the next-generation telescope is well underway on Las Campanas Peak at the southern edge of Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to explore the universe. It will use seven of the world’s largest mirrors and the most advanced adaptive optics technology to see billions of lightyears into the universe with ten times the resolution of the famed Hubble Space Telescope. This extraordinary image clarity will enable scientists around the globe to obtain new clues to the fundamental nature and evolution of the universe — including the search for life on distant exoplanets.
The Weizmann Institute of Science is the thirteenth member of the GMTO Corporation, joining Arizona State University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Carnegie Institution for Science, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP, Harvard University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, and the University of Chicago. The international consortium anticipates commissioning the Giant Magellan Telescope in the late 2020s.
To learn more about the Weizmann Institute for Science, visit weizmann.ac.il. To learn more about the GMTO Corporation, the international nonprofit organization building the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org.
Media Contacts Ryan Kallabis, Director of Communications Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation rkallabis@gmto.org +1-(626)-204-0554 MultimediaMultimedia assets and media usage statement available here until November 1, 2021.
El Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann se une al Telescopio Magallanes Gigante, una prioridad científica a nivel mundial
El prestigioso centro de investigación formará parte del telescopio más poderoso del mundo, contribuyendo a hacer realidad el anhelo internacional de ver más lejos en el espacio y con más detalles que nunca.
PASADENA, CA – El 14 de septiembre de 2021, GMTO Corporation dio la bienvenida al Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann como nuevo integrante del consorcio internacional de famosas universidades e instituciones de investigación que construyen el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante. La llegada de este nuevo socio reafirma que completar el telescopio óptico-infrarrojo gregoriano más grande y poderoso jamás diseñado, es una prioridad para la comunidad científica mundial. Las capacidades sin precedentes del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante, sumadas al liderazgo mundial del Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann en conocimiento científico y recursos en astrofísica, revolucionarán nuestra forma de comprender el universo y el lugar que ocupamos en él.
GMTO Corporation, mapa del consorcio internacional
“La incorporación del Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann es una gran victoria para nuestro consorcio internacional”, dijo Walter Massey, presidente del directorio de GMTO Corporation y ex director de la National Science Foundation (NSF). “Simplemente nos volvimos más fuertes y capaces. Ahora estamos un paso más cerca de apuntar los espejos más grandes del mundo hacia el cielo y descubrir muchos de sus secretos cósmicos”.
El Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann es una prestigiosa institución de investigación interdisciplinaria de Israel. Su Centro de Astrofísica Nella y Leon Benoziyo promueve la investigación en casi todas las áreas de la astronomía, permitiendo que el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante expanda sus capacidades y se beneficie de su destacado equipo de astrofísicos, así como de la reconocida innovación israelí. Antes de unirse oficialmente a GMTO Corporation, los investigadores del Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann ayudaron a desarrollar uno de los primeros instrumentos científicos para el telescopio, un espectrógrafo diseñado para estudiar planetas similares a la Tierra alrededor de estrellas de tipo solar. A través de esta emblemática iniciativa, y de su liderazgo en astrofísica y, física de partículas y diseño de misiones espaciales, el Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann busca alcanzar nuevos niveles de conocimiento sobre las principales interrogantes de la física fundamental, así como contribuir con una amplia gama de aplicaciones prácticas. El Telescopio Magallanes Gigante es crucial para esta iniciativa.
“Unirse al consorcio GMTO es un gran paso adelante para el Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann”, dijo el profesor Avishay Gal-Yam, director del Centro Deloro para el Espacio y la Óptica en el Instituto Weizmann. “Es un privilegio unirme a un equipo global de vanguardia en investigación en astrofísica, que nos permitirá acelerar nuestras propias capacidades de observación, desarrollar instrumentos que elevarán la forma en que los grupos líderes en este campo exploran el universo, y compartir experiencias con socios de primer nivel en el campo de la astrofísica”.
La construcción de este telescopio de última generación sigue avanzando en el cerro Las Campanas, en el extremo sur del desierto de Atacama en Chile, uno de los mejores lugares del planeta para explorar el universo. El Telescopio Magallanes Gigante utilizará siete de los espejos más grandes del mundo y la tecnología de óptica adaptativa más avanzada, para poder ver a miles de millones de años luz en el universo y lograr una resolución diez veces mayor que la del famoso Telescopio Espacial Hubble. Esta extraordinaria claridad de imagen permitirá a los científicos de todo el mundo obtener nuevas pistas sobre la naturaleza y evolución del universo, incluida la búsqueda de vida en exoplanetas lejanos.
El Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann es el decimotercer socio de GMTO Corporation, junto a Arizona State University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Carnegie Institution for Science, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP, Harvard University, Instituto de Astronomía y Ciencias Espaciales de Korea, Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona y University of Chicago. El consorcio internacional anticipa la entrada en operaciones del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante a fines de esta década.
Para obtener más información sobre el Instituto de Ciencias Weizmann, visite weizmann.ac.il.
Para obtener más información sobre GMTO Corporation, la organización internacional sin fines de lucro que construye el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante, visite gmto.org.
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Contacto para los medios
Valentina Rodriguez, Directora de Relaciones Externas en Chile
Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation
vrodriguez@gmto.org
Dana Bernstein, Head of Communications
Weizmann Institute of Science
+972-(0)-8-934-3857, dana.bernstein@weizmann.ac.il
Multimedia
Multimedia assets and media usage statement available here until November 1, 2021.
Rockford Company to Help Giant Telescope Reach for the Stars, Peek at the Universe
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Rockford Company to Help Giant Telescope Reach for the Stars, Peek at the Universe
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Ingersoll Breaks Ground on Facility to Build Giant Magellan Telescope Mount
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Ingersoll Breaks Ground on Facility to Build Giant Magellan Telescope Mount
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Stateline Manufacturer Breaks Ground on Giant Telescope Project
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Stateline Manufacturer Breaks Ground on Giant Telescope Project
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Spinning Glass To See The Stars
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Spinning Glass To See The Stars
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Giant Magellan Telescope Project Casts Sixth Mirror
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Giant Magellan Telescope Project Casts Sixth Mirror
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Engineering Marvel: Sixth Mirror Cast for Giant Magellan Telescope
The 8.4-meter mirror joins five of the world’s largest mirrors previously cast for the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the world’s largest and most anticipated extremely large telescopes.
PASADENA, CA — The Giant Magellan Telescope announces fabrication of the sixth of seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors. These mirrors will allow astronomers to see farther into the universe with more detail than any other optical telescope before. The sixth 8.4-meter (27.5 feet) mirror — about two stories high when standing on edge — is being fabricated at the University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab and will take nearly four years to complete. The mirror casting is considered a marvel of modern engineering and is usually celebrated with a large in-person event with attendees from all over the world. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, work on the sixth mirror began behind closed doors to protect the health of the 10-person mirror casting team at the lab.
The Giant Magellan Telescope has seven primary mirrors arranged in a flower pattern array. The mirrors are the largest in the world. Credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.
“The most important part of a telescope is its light-collecting mirror,” said James Fanson, Project Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “The larger the mirror, the deeper we can see into the universe and the more detail we can observe. The Giant Magellan Telescope’s unique primary mirror design consists of seven of the world’s largest mirrors. Casting the sixth mirror is a major step toward completion. Once operational, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce images ten times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. The discoveries these mirrors will make will transform our understanding of the universe.”
The process of casting the giant mirror at Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab involves melting nearly 20 tons (38,490 pounds) of high-purity, low-expansion, borosilicate glass (called E6 glass) into the world’s only spinning furnace designed to cast giant mirrors for telescopes. At the peak of the melting process, the furnace spins at five revolutions per minute, heating the glass to 1,165 degrees Celsius (2,129 F) for approximately five hours until it liquefies into the mold. The peak temperature event is called “high fire” and will occur on March 6, 2021. The mirror then enters a one month annealing process where the glass is cooled while the furnace spins at a slower rate in order to remove internal stresses and toughen the glass. It takes another 1.5 months to cool to room temperature. This “spin cast” process gives the mirror surface its special parabolic shape. Once cooled, the mirror will be polished for two years before reaching an optical surface precision of less than one thousandth of the width of a human hair or five times smaller than a single coronavirus particle.
This timelapse shows several stages of the mirror casting process for segment five, including creating the light-weighted mirror mold, loading nearly 20 tons of glass into the mold, and the furnace spinning during “high fire.” Credit: Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, The University of Arizona and the Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.
“I am tremendously proud of how the operations of the mirror lab have adapted to the pandemic, allowing our talented and dedicated members of the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab to safely continue to produce the mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope,” said Buell Jannuzi, Director of Steward Observatory and Head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona.
With the first two giant mirrors completed and in storage in Tucson, Arizona, the sixth mirror joins three others in various stages of production at the mirror lab. The third mirror’s front surface polishing has achieved 70 nanometer accuracy and is less than one year from completion. The fourth mirror has completed rear surface polishing, and load spreaders are being attached to allow the mirror to be manipulated during operation. The fifth mirror was cast in November 2017, and the seventh mirror is expected to be cast in 2023. In addition, an eighth spare mirror is planned to be made that can be swapped in when another mirror requires maintenance.
In the late 2020s, the giant mirrors will be transported more than 8,100 kilometers (5,000 miles) to the Giant Magellan Telescope’s future home in the Chilean Atacama Desert at Las Campanas Observatory more than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level. The site is known for being one of the best astronomical sites on the planet, with its clear skies, low light pollution, and stable airflow producing exceptionally sharp images. Additionally, the site’s southern hemisphere location gives the extremely large telescope access to the center of the Milky Way, which is of interest for many reasons, including the fact that it is the home to the nearest supermassive black hole, as well as many of the most interesting nearby galaxies. The southern hemisphere is also home to some of the most powerful observatories working at other wavelengths, making it the ideal location for synergistic scientific observations.
This video shows the Giant Magellan Telescope’s construction site on July 02, 2019 during the morning of the solar eclipse. Credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.
Once the Giant Magellan Telescope becomes fully operational, its seven mirror-array will have a total light collecting area of 368 square meters (3,961 square feet) — enough to see the torch engraved on a dime from nearly 160 kilometers (100 miles) away. Such viewing power is ten times greater than the famed Hubble Space Telescope and four times greater than the highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope, expected to launch in late 2021. The mirrors are also a crucial part of the optical design that allows the Giant Magellan Telescope to have the widest field of view of any extremely large telescope (ELT) in the 30-meter class. The unique optical design will make the Giant Magellan Telescope the most optically efficient ELT when it comes to making use of every photon of light that the mirrors collect — only two reflections are required to direct light to the wide field instruments and only three reflections to provide light to the instruments that use small fields of view and the highest possible spatial resolutions.
“This unprecedented combination of light gathering power, efficiency, and image resolution will enable us to make new discoveries across all fields of astronomy, particularly fields that require the highest spatial and spectral resolutions, like the search for other Earths,” said Rebecca Bernstein, Chief Scientist of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “We will have unique capabilities for studying planets at high resolution, which is the key to understanding if a planet has a rocky composition like our Earth, if it contains liquid water, and if its atmosphere contains the right combination of molecules to signal the presence of life.”
The Giant Magellan Telescope project is the work of a distinguished international consortium of leading universities and science institutions. For more about the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org.
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Media Contact
Ryan Kallabis
Director of Communications
rkallabis@gmto.org
(626) 204-0554
Multimedia Resources
Multimedia from the release and media usage statement are available from the GMTO Corporation here and from the University of Arizona here until March 20, 2021. Assets may not appear uncredited. Unless otherwise noted in media usage statement, credit line must be given as follows: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.
Engineering Marvel: Sixth Mirror Cast for Giant Magellan Telescope
The 8.4-meter mirror joins five of the world’s largest mirrors previously cast for the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the world’s largest and most anticipated extremely large telescopes.
PASADENA, CA — The Giant Magellan Telescope announces fabrication of the sixth of seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors. These mirrors will allow astronomers to see farther into the universe with more detail than any other optical telescope before. The sixth 8.4-meter (27.5 feet) mirror — about two stories high when standing on edge — is being fabricated at the University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab and will take nearly four years to complete. The mirror casting is considered a marvel of modern engineering and is usually celebrated with a large in-person event with attendees from all over the world. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, work on the sixth mirror began behind closed doors to protect the health of the 10-person mirror casting team at the lab.
The GMT Science Requirements for the telescope and associated instruments and facilities flow from the scientific priorities listed in the GMT Science Book. These requirements are used to optimize the telescope design and development process, and to define the goals and requirements for the GMT first generation instruments.
This timelapse shows several stages of the mirror casting process for segment five, including creating the light-weighted mirror mold, loading nearly 20 tons of glass into the mold, and the furnace spinning during “high fire.” Credit: Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, The University of Arizona and the Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation. The Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirror segment five during reveal. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation. The Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirrors are fabricated with high-purity, low-expansion, borosilicate glass (called E6 glass) from the Ohara Corporation of Japan. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.“The most important part of a telescope is its light-collecting mirror,” said James Fanson, Project Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “The larger the mirror, the deeper we can see into the universe and the more detail we can observe. The Giant Magellan Telescope’s unique primary mirror design consists of seven of the world’s largest mirrors. Casting the sixth mirror is a major step toward completion. Once operational, the Giant Magellan Telescope will produce images ten times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. The discoveries these mirrors will make will transform our understanding of the universe.”
The process of casting the giant mirror at Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab involves melting nearly 20 tons (38,490 pounds) of high-purity, low-expansion, borosilicate glass (called E6 glass) into the world’s only spinning furnace designed to cast giant mirrors for telescopes. At the peak of the melting process, the furnace spins at five revolutions per minute, heating the glass to 1,165 degrees Celsius (2,129 F) for approximately five hours until it liquefies into the mold. The peak temperature event is called “high fire” and will occur on March 6, 2021. The mirror then enters a one month annealing process where the glass is cooled while the furnace spins at a slower rate in order to remove internal stresses and toughen the glass. It takes another 1.5 months to cool to room temperature. This “spin cast” process gives the mirror surface its special parabolic shape. Once cooled, the mirror will be polished for two years before reaching an optical surface precision of less than one thousandth of the width of a human hair or five times smaller than a single coronavirus particle.
This timelapse shows several stages of the mirror casting process for segment five, including creating the light-weighted mirror mold, loading nearly 20 tons of glass into the mold, and the furnace spinning during “high fire.” Credit: Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, The University of Arizona and the Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.“I am tremendously proud of how the operations of the mirror lab have adapted to the pandemic, allowing our talented and dedicated members of the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab to safely continue to produce the mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope,” said Buell Jannuzi, Director of Steward Observatory and Head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona.
With the first two giant mirrors completed and in storage in Tucson, Arizona, the sixth mirror joins three others in various stages of production at the mirror lab. The third mirror’s front surface polishing has achieved 70 nanometer accuracy and is less than one year from completion. The fourth mirror has completed rear surface polishing, and load spreaders are being attached to allow the mirror to be manipulated during operation. The fifth mirror was cast in November 2017, and the seventh mirror is expected to be cast in 2023. In addition, an eighth spare mirror is planned to be made that can be swapped in when another mirror requires maintenance.
In the late 2020s, the giant mirrors will be transported more than 8,100 kilometers (5,000 miles) to the Giant Magellan Telescope’s future home in the Chilean Atacama Desert at Las Campanas Observatory more than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level. The site is known for being one of the best astronomical sites on the planet, with its clear skies, low light pollution, and stable airflow producing exceptionally sharp images. Additionally, the site’s southern hemisphere location gives the extremely large telescope access to the center of the Milky Way, which is of interest for many reasons, including the fact that it is the home to the nearest supermassive black hole, as well as many of the most interesting nearby galaxies. The southern hemisphere is also home to some of the most powerful observatories working at other wavelengths, making it the ideal location for synergistic scientific observations.
This video shows the Giant Magellan Telescope’s construction site on July 02, 2019 during the morning of the solar eclipse. Credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.Once the Giant Magellan Telescope becomes fully operational, its seven mirror-array will have a total light collecting area of 368 square meters (3,961 square feet) — enough to see the torch engraved on a dime from nearly 160 kilometers (100 miles) away. Such viewing power is ten times greater than the famed Hubble Space Telescope and four times greater than the highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope, expected to launch in late 2021. The mirrors are also a crucial part of the optical design that allows the Giant Magellan Telescope to have the widest field of view of any extremely large telescope (ELT) in the 30-meter class. The unique optical design will make the Giant Magellan Telescope the most optically efficient ELT when it comes to making use of every photon of light that the mirrors collect — only two reflections are required to direct light to the wide field instruments and only three reflections to provide light to the instruments that use small fields of view and the highest possible spatial resolutions.
“This unprecedented combination of light gathering power, efficiency, and image resolution will enable us to make new discoveries across all fields of astronomy, particularly fields that require the highest spatial and spectral resolutions, like the search for other Earths,” said Rebecca Bernstein, Chief Scientist of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “We will have unique capabilities for studying planets at high resolution, which is the key to understanding if a planet has a rocky composition like our Earth, if it contains liquid water, and if its atmosphere contains the right combination of molecules to signal the presence of life.”
The Giant Magellan Telescope project is the work of a distinguished international consortium of leading universities and science institutions. For more about the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org.
Media Contact Ryan Kallabis Director of Communications rkallabis@gmto.org (626) 204-0554Diciembre 2020 – Español
Puedes ir directo al tema que te interesa en los siguientes enlaces:
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- El 2020 para GMTO
- Novedades sobre el sitio de construcción
- Subvención del la NSF acelera el desarrollo del telescopio
- ¿Sabías que…?
- Positiva evaluación del pionero sistema antisísmico
- Avances en los prototipos de los Espejos Secundarios Adaptativos
- GMTO en SPIE 2020
- Participa junto a GMTO en la AAS 2020
El 2020 fue un año de progresos y desafíos para el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
Comenzamos el año formando parte de la sesión informativa sobre el Programa del Telescopio Extremadamente Grande de los Estados Unidos (US-ELTP, por su sigla en inglés) ante la Sociedad Astronómica Americana (AAS). Este programa busca otorgar a la comunidad científica estadounidense un amplio acceso al Telescopio Magallanes Gigante mediante la participación del gobierno de los Estados Unidos. La respuesta de la comunidad científica fue muy positiva.
Más tarde participamos en una sesión informativa ante el Panel de Observaciones Ópticas e Infrarrojas desde la Tierra, de la Encuesta Decenal de los Estados Unido. La Encuesta Decenal establecerá las prioridades científicas del gobierno de los Estados Unidos durante los próximos diez años. Nuestro informe fue bien recibido por el Panel e incluso fue reseñado por The New York Times.
Luego irrumpió la pandemia del coronavirus, que transformó nuestras vidas y nos obligó a trabajar de un modo muy diferente. GMTO Corporation respondió rápidamente cerrando las oficinas de Pasadena y Santiago, y el sitio de construcción en Chile, facilitando la transición de nuestros empleados al teletrabajo desde casa. Con el tiempo, tanto nosotros como nuestros proveedores, pudimos retomar el trabajo presencial en nuestros laboratorios de manera segura y, antes de finalizar el año, la construcción se pudo reanudar en Las Campanas. Si bien nuestro cronograma se ha visto afectado, hemos seguido logrando excelentes avances.
GMTO Corporation se subadjudicó una subvención de la National Science Foundation (NSF) de los Estados Unidos por una propuesta presentada en 2019 para probar tecnologías pioneras de óptica activa y adaptativa para el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante. Este fondo permitirá contar con dos bases de pruebas de la fase óptica, una base de pruebas del sistema de control del espejo primario en tamaño real, así como la fabricación y prueba de elementos claves del primer espejo secundario adaptativo fuera del eje. Este año también presentamos una propuesta adicional a la NSF para preparar a la Corporación GMTO para cumplir con los requerimientos de la NSF, con miras a una posible participación del gobierno de los Estados Unidos en el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
La producción de espejos en el Laboratorio Richard F. Caris de la Universidad de Arizona continúa a buen ritmo. El pulido de la superficie frontal del segmento #3 ha logrado una precisión de 200 nanómetros y está a menos de un año de su finalización. Se completó el pulido de la superficie trasera del segmento #5 y los preparativos para fundir espejo #6 a comienzos del próximo año, están muy avanzados. Nuestro contratista de estructuras de telescopios está próximo a la revisión preliminar del diseño, en tanto que otros subsistemas del telescopio se encuentran en etapas preliminares o finales de diseño.
Esperamos el 2021 con determinación y optimismo para seguir avanzando en el diseño y la construcción del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
– Dr. Miguel Roth, Vicepresidente de GMTO y Representante Legal en Chile
Novedades sobre el sitio de construcciónUn trabajador de la construcción del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante con su equipo de seguridad y su máscara, frente al Observatorio Las Campanas en el desierto de Atacama, Chile.
A mediados de marzo, la mayoría de nuestro equipo dejó el sitio de construcción del GMT en el Observatorio Las Campanas en Chile, como medida de seguridad frente a la pandemia de COVID-19. Un equipo reducido permaneció en el sitio para realizar el mantenimiento esencial y salvaguardar nuestra infraestructura.
A fines de octubre, hubo un terremoto de magnitud 5,8 con epicentro cercano nuestro sitio, a unos 20 km al oeste y 60 km de profundidad. Inmediatamente realizamos una inspección detallada de nuestra infraestructura, caminos y equipos, de acuerdo con nuestros protocolos de seguridad. También hicimos mediciones en la cumbre para verificar si se habían producido desplazamientos del terreno. Afortunadamente, no hubo hallazgos ni ningún tipo de daños que reportar.
Después de una ausencia de 33 semanas, un contingente reducido recibe capacitación de seguridad contra el coronavirus antes de regresar al sitio de construcción. Siguiendo las regulaciones locales, los trabajadores se sientan a más de 1,5 metros de distancia entre sí en los asientos designados.
A comienzos de noviembre, después de cientos de horas de planificación y preparación para un retorno seguro al trabajo en el sitio del telescopio, nuestro equipo regresó con la misión de terminar el proyecto de infraestructura para la distribución de agua y servicios básicos. A la llegada del equipo al sitio, se realizaron sesiones informativas sobre las nuevas medidas de prevención ante el COVID-19, tanto en las operaciones en el sitio como los protocolos aplicados en la residencia. Durante nuestra primera semana de regreso, 45 personas estuvieron en el sitio, incluidos empleados de GMTO, contratistas y personal de servicios generales. La ocupación del sitio no superó el 20% de su capacidad.
Nuestro comedor fue reorganizado para permitir la trazabilidad de los contactos. Hemos reducido la capacidad máxima de 150 comensales a 40, utilizando mesas de 6 personas con un máximo de 2. Las comidas se realizan en turnos, con intervalos de 15 minutos de sanitización entre un turno y otro, además de la instalación de paneles divisorios en cada mesa. El alojamiento en las habitaciones ha pasado de uso compartido a uso individual y nuestras zonas de recreación (gimnasio, mesa de billar, TV) permanecen cerradas. Implementamos barreras de seguridad en las áreas del sitio donde ha sido necesario para garantizar la seguridad de los trabajos de construcción. Además, para permitir la trazabilidad de los contactos, el equipo se ha organizado en células de trabajo: grupos que trabajan juntos, comparten transporte y comparten turnos de comidas.
– Francisco Figueroa, Gerente de Construcción en el Sitio (Chile)
Subvención de la NSF acelera el desarrollo del telescopioEn septiembre, el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante se subadjudicó una subvención de la National Science Foundation (NSF) de los Estados Unidos por 17,5 millones de dólares, para acelerar la creación de prototipos y las pruebas de algunas de las tecnologías ópticas e infrarrojas más potentes jamás diseñadas. La subvención refuerza tres avances cruciales y elimina los riesgos:
- La construcción de dos bases de prueba para la alineación y puesta en fase, permitirá a los ingenieros demostrar, en un entorno controlado de laboratorio, que sus diseños centrales funcionarán para alinear y sincronizar los siete segmentos de espejo del telescopio, con la precisión requerida para lograr imágenes de difracción limitada con la primera luz en 2029.
- Un prototipo a gran escala del sistema de control y soporte del espejo primario que realiza el control óptico activo.
- La construcción parcial y prueba de un espejo secundario adaptable (ASM, por su sigla en inglés) de última generación, que se utiliza para realizar poner en fase el espejo primario y corregir la distorsión atmosférica.
“Nuestros siete espejos secundarios adaptativos llevan esta tecnología [óptica adaptativa] a un nivel superior”, dijo el Dr. James Fanson, Gerente de Proyecto del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante. “Nadie ha intentado utilizar siete ASM hasta ahora. Probablemente ésta sea la tecnología más avanzada que tenemos en el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante y su éxito es una prioridad absoluta. Necesitamos probar y validar su desempeño al principio del proyecto”.
Las bases de pruebas se desarrollarán en el Centro de Óptica Adaptativa Astronómica (CAAO) de la Universidad de Arizona y en el Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), mientras que las pruebas de los actuadores y la integración del soporte del espejo primario se desarrollarán en la Universidad de Texas A&M. Los espejos secundarios adaptativos se desarrollan por un contrato con AdOptica.
Esta subvención de la NSF posiciona al Telescopio Magallanes Gigante como uno de los primeros en la nueva generación de telescopios extremadamente grandes, lo que tendrán alrededor de tres veces el tamaño de cualquier telescopio óptico terrestre construido hasta la fecha y serán capaces de lograr una resolución diez veces mejor que la del Telescopio Espacial Hubble.
Ver noticia completa en inglés
¿Sabías que…?El Telescopio Magallanes Gigante es miembro del Programa del Telescopio Extremadamente Grande de los Estados Unidos (US-ELTP), una iniciativa conjunta con el Telescopio de Treinta Metros (TMT) y el Laboratorio Nacional de Investigación en Astronomía Óptica-Infrarroja (NOIRLab) de la NSF, para proporcionar acceso de primer nivel a la totalidad del cielo nocturno (hemisferios norte y sur). Una vez finalizados los telescopios, los científicos de los EE. UU. podrán aprovechar estos telescopios pioneros del programa para llevar a cabo una investigación transformadora que responda a algunas de las principales preguntas de la humanidad.
Ver más sobre el US-ELTP en inglés
Pionero sistema antisísmico
En noviembre, un panel independiente de expertos de renombre internacional otorgó las mejores calificaciones al innovador sistema de protección sísmica del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante, capaz de proteger la estructura que pesa más de 6 mil toneladas, de daños causados por grandes terremotos. El innovador sistema no tiene precedentes en el campo de la astronomía, tanto por su inédito tamaño, como por su alta complejidad, y allanará el camino para la próxima generación en diseño de observatorios.
El Telescopio Magallanes Gigante se está construyendo en el Observatorio Las Campanas, en el desierto de Atacama en Chile, una de las mejores ubicaciones del planeta para observar el universo. Pero si bien esta remota región cuenta con más de 300 noches despejadas cada año, también es una de las regiones con mayor actividad sísmica del mundo. Los grandes terremotos en Chile pueden durar más de tres minutos y a menudo exceden los siete puntos en la escala de Richter.
El sistema de protección sísmica, o sistema de aislamiento sísmico, está diseñado para permanecer inactivo durante pequeños temblores “molestos”, comunes en el Observatorio Las Campanas. El sistema solo se activará durante terremotos de gran magnitud que superen los 5 puntos en la escala de Richter.
El sistema de aislamiento sísmico está ubicado debajo del pilar del telescopio y consta de dos líneas de defensa para la protección sísmica:
- Soportes de péndulo de fricción (SFP), que aíslan el telescopio de los movimientos laterales del suelo durante un terremoto.
- Sistema de recentrado del pilar, que puede devolver el telescopio y el pilar a la posición operativa normal después de un terremoto.
Al igual que los dispositivos sísmicos utilizados en puentes y otras estructuras grandes, los soportes SFP permiten que el pilar se mueva lateralmente con respecto a los cimientos, disipando energía y manteniendo el telescopio seguro. La matriz circular de 24 soportes tiene un rango de movimiento y un radio de curvatura de +/- 700 mm, lo que proporciona un período de movimiento lateral de cuatro segundos.
“La capacidad del pilar de moverse con respecto a los cimientos crea la necesidad asociada de llevar el telescopio a la posición ‘inicial’ después de un gran terremoto”, dijo el Dr. Bruce Bigelow Gerente del Sitio, Cúpula e Infraestructura del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
El sistema de monitoreo y recentrado del pilar (PRMS) utiliza un poderoso sistema hidráulico capaz de mover más de 6.200 toneladas métricas de telescopio y pilar (aproximadamente la mitad del peso del Puente de Brooklyn), para devolver el pilar a unos pocos milímetros de su posición operativa después de una gran terremoto.
Ver noticia completa en inglés
Prototipos de los Espejos Secundarios AdaptativosIntegración de la placa fría y el cuerpo de referencia (izquierda) y la base P72 aluminizada con los 72 imanes adheridos a su superficie posterior (derecha). (right)
El inmenso tamaño de los espejos primarios del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante requiere un poderoso sistema de óptica adaptativa para corregir los efectos causados por la atmósfera. El uso de los espejos secundarios adaptativos (ASM) permite recolectar la luz entrante y darle una forma opuesta a la distorsión introducida por la atmósfera, dando como resultado una imagen nítida.
“La incorporación de la tecnología de óptica adaptativa al Telescopio Magallanes Gigante permitirá a los astrónomos obtener imágenes de objetos aún más distantes gracias su capacidad para reducir al mínimo la distorsión atmosférica”, comenta Glenn Brossus, Subgerente de Proyecto del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
Diagrama de un segmento de espejo secundario adaptativo de GMT que muestra componentes clave como la superficie frontal adaptativa, el cuerpo de referencia rígido, los actuadores electromagnéticos, la placa fría y el posicionador del segmento con 6 grados de libertad.
En el núcleo de cada ASM hay 675 actuadores que pueden deformar o “adaptar” a la forma deseada la superficie frontal del espejo de 1.05 m de diámetro y 2 mm de espesor. Los actuadores están fijados a un cuerpo de referencia rígido y usan fuerza electromagnética para empujar y tirar de los imanes que están adheridos a la parte posterior de la superficie frontal del espejo. Esta capacidad de cambio de forma permite que los espejos se ajusten continuamente durante una exposición. Para corregir el error de fase óptica, cada segmento de espejo secundario moverá solo 4 kg de vidrio en lugar de un espejo primario de 17 toneladas, lo que simplifica enormemente el control general de la imagen del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante.
El progreso en los ASM del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante continua con el desarrollo del prototipo a escala. Se han recibido, ensamblado y probado componentes prototipo para la superficie frontal de 0,35 m de diámetro y 72 actuadores. La superficie frontal del prototipo ha sido recubierta con aluminio y tiene 72 imanes adheridos a la superficie posterior. Con la placa fría y el cuerpo de referencia integrados, los ingenieros del proyecto están listos para la siguiente etapa: pruebas de comportamiento óptico.
Más sobre Óptica Adaptativa en inglés
GMTO en SPIE 2020
Este año, la conferencia SPIE 2020: Telescopios e Instrumentos Astronómicos inauguró un foro virtual del 14 al 18 de diciembre. El Dr. James Fanson, Gerente de Proyecto del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante, dio una charla sobre el estado de avance del proyecto. Varios ingenieros del proyecto enviaron trabajos y realizaron presentaciones.
Más sobre las presentaciones y trabajos (en inglés)
Participa junto a GMTO en la AAS 2020Participa junto al Telescopio Magallanes Gigante en la 237ª Reunión de la Sociedad Astronómica Americana (AAS), del 10 al 15 de enero de 2021. Asistiremos virtualmente en asociación con el Programa del Telescopios Extremadamente Grande de los Estados Unidos. ¡Busca el stand virtual del US-ELTP! El Dr. James Fanson, Gerente de Proyecto del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante también hablará durante una sesión especial sobre el US-ELTP, el 14 de enero de 2021.