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2020 in photos

2020 was a year of progress and challenge for the Giant Magellan Telescope. Here is our 2020 story told in photos. Click the image to see the caption.

For the latest progress on the Giant Magellan Telescope, take a look at our 2020 in review newsletter.

International review panel praises the Giant Magellan Telescope’s innovative seismic protection system capable of protecting the 13.6-million-pound telescope structure from earthquake damage in one of the world’s most seismically active regions.

PASADENA, CA — Engineers designing the Giant Magellan Telescope have solved an immense design challenge never attempted before: Protecting a 22-story rotating observatory and seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors from being damaged by earthquakes. The innovative seismic protection design earned top marks from an independent review panel of international experts in November, paving the way for the next generation in observatory design.

“The structures of the next generation of extremely large telescopes are so massive, their instruments so sensitive, and the seismic environments they are located in are so intense, that there’s really no way to avoid seismic protection. We need a seismic isolation system to keep the telescope operational,” said Dr. Bruce Bigelow, the Giant Magellan Telescope’s Site, Enclosure, and Facilities Manager.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a new 30-meter class ground-based telescope being constructed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the universe. But while this remote region boasts more than 300 clear nights of the galactic center per year, it also is home to some of the biggest, the most frequent, and the most destructive Earthquakes ever recorded. Large earthquakes in Chile can last for more than three minutes and often exceed seven on the surface-wave magnitude scale (MS).

The Giant Magellan Telescope construction site at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, February 2020. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

“Telescopes that have been built in seismically active regions were designed, due to their smaller scale, without explicit seismic mitigation,” said Dr. Dave Ashby, the Giant Magellan Telescope’s Project Engineer. “While most remain operational today, some have incurred costly earthquake damage. The new generation of extremely large telescopes will be built with sophisticated seismic mitigations, including seismic isolation, to balance construction and operational costs over the extended operational service lives of these large facilities.”

The seismic protection system — also known as a seismic isolation system — on the Giant Magellan Telescope is unprecedented in the world of telescopes, in terms of the size and complexity. Unlike hospitals or large bridges, the seismic isolation system needs to not only protect the structures from collapse, but also to prevent the structure and fragile optical components inside from requiring repair. Because the Giant Magellan Telescope’s seismic isolation system serves as the telescope foundation, it must be very reliable. By design, the probability of seismic isolation failure is less than 0.5 percent over the 50-year service life of the observatory. The system is designed to remain inactive during small “nuisance” earthquakes that are common at Las Campanas Observatory. The system will only engage during earthquakes that exceed a magnitude of approximately 5 Ms and extreme earthquakes that will typically occur on a 1–2-year time scale.

The Giant Magellan Telescope’s seismic isolation system consists of two lines of defense that keep it safe and allow a return to operations within hours to weeks, depending on the magnitude of a seismic event.

1. Seismic Isolation System: A circular array of 24 single friction pendulum isolators that support the telescope and its pier and protect the telescope’s optical components and instruments from active ground motion caused by a major earthquake.
2. Pier Recentering System: A hydraulic system that can return the 6,200 metric ton telescope structure to its original resting and operational position following a major earthquake.

A circular array of 24 single friction pendulum isolators are located under the Giant Magellan Telescope’s pier that supports the telescope and protects optical components and instruments from active ground motion caused by major earthquakes. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

After a major earthquake, the friction pendulum isolators may not return the telescope exactly back to its normal operation position. “The isolation system will return the telescope to its ‘home’ position within a couple of inches, but that’s not good enough,” said Dr. Bigelow. “That’s where the hydraulics of the pier recentering system come in, which can move the 6,000 metric tons of telescope and pier and return the telescope to a fraction of an inch from where it was before the earthquake.”

After a major earthquake, the friction pendulum isolators may not return the telescope exactly back to its normal operation position. “The isolation system will return the telescope to its ‘home’ position within a couple of inches, but that’s not good enough,” said Dr. Bigelow. “That’s where the hydraulics of the pier recentering system come in, which can move the 6,000 metric tons of telescope and pier and return the telescope to a fraction of an inch from where it was before the earthquake.”

To validate this revolutionary design, engineers at the Giant Magellan Telescope exposed the design to an independent review panel of internationally renowned experts in seismic isolation systems, very large hydraulic positioning systems, and the formulation and placement of high-strength concrete. Reviewers reported that the preliminary designs have successfully met the seismic protection requirements that, as Dr. Bigelow said, are “absolutely crucial to assuring that the telescope can do its job for 50 years.”

For more information about the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org

Media Contact Ryan Kallabis Director of Communications rkallabis@gmto.org (626) 204-0554 Multimedia Resources

Multimedia from the release are available here until January 8, 2021.

Assets may not appear uncredited. Credit line must be given as follows: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

Use the quicklinks below to navigate to the topics that interest you:

• 2020 in Review
• Updates From the Construction Site
• Major National Science Foundation Grant Accelerates Telescope Development
• Did You Know?
• Protecting the Telescope From Extreme Earthquakes
• Prototyping the Adaptive Secondary Mirrors
• Event Recap: SPIE 2020
• Join us at AAS 2020
• 2020 in the News
• Job Openings

2020 in Review

2020 was a year of progress and challenge for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

We began the year as part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program briefing to the American Astronomical Society. This program seeks to provide broad US community access to the Giant Magellan Telescope through the involvement of the US government. The scientific community response was quite positive.

This was followed by a briefing to the US Decadal Survey Panel on Optical and Infrared Observations from the Ground. The Decadal Survey will establish the scientific priorities for the US government over the next ten years. Our briefing was well received by the Panel, and the event was reported by the New York Times.

Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which upended our lives and forced us into a very different mode of work. The GMTO Corporation responded swiftly to close our office in Pasadena and the construction site in Chile and transition our employees to teleworking from home. Over time our suppliers and we were able to continue necessary work in laboratories safely, and by the end of the year, construction had resumed at Las Campanas. While our schedule has been impacted somewhat, excellent progress continues to be made.

The GMTO Corporation was a subawardee of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant from a proposal we submitted in 2019 for work including adaptive and active optics technologies needed by the Giant Magellan Telescope. This will produce two optical phasing testbeds, a full-scale primary mirror control system testbed, and fabrication and testing of key elements of the first off-axis adaptive secondary mirror. We submitted an additional proposal to the NSF this year to prepare the GMTO Corporation for further interaction with the NSF aimed at possible US government involvement in the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Mirror production at the Richard F. Caris Laboratory at the University of Arizona continues apace. Segment #3 front surface polishing has achieved 200 nanometer accuracy and is less than one year from completion. Segment #5 rear-surface processing was completed, and preparations are well advanced to cast Segment #6 early next year. Our telescope structure contractor is approaching preliminary design review, and other telescope subsystems are in preliminary or final design stages.

We look forward to 2021 with determination and optimism for continued progress with the design and construction of Giant Magellan Telescope.

– Dr. James Fanson, Project Manager

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Updates From the Construction Site

Giant Magellan Telescope construction worker wears safety gear and mask backdropped by Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile.

In mid-March, the majority of our team vacated the telescope site at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile as a safety precaution amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A skeleton crew remained at the site to perform essential maintenance and safeguard our infrastructure.

In late October, there was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with the epicenter not far from our site, about 20 km to the west and 60 km deep. Afterward, we conducted a detailed inspection of our infrastructure, roads, and equipment, in accordance with our safety protocols. We also took measurements at the summit to verify whether soil settlement occurred. Fortunately, there were no findings of any kind and no damages to report.

After a 33-week absence, a reduced workforce at the construction site receive coronavirus safety training before returning to work. Following local regulations, workers sit 6+ feet apart from one another in designated seating.

In early November, after hundreds of hours of dedicated planning and preparation for a safe return to work at the telescope site, our team remobilized with the intent to finish the Water and Utility Infrastructure distribution package. When the team arrived at the site, we conducted briefings on the new COVID-19 preventions in place, including facilities operations and residence protocols. During our first week back, 45 people were on site including GMTO Corporation employees, contractors, and general services personnel. Site occupancy is at roughly 20% capacity.

Our dining facilities have been reorganized to allow for contact traceability. We’ve downsized the maximum capacity of 150 diners to 40 diners, and of tables of 6 to tables of 2. Mealtimes now occur in shifts with 15-minute sanitation sweeps between shifts, and we’ve installed shielded dividers at each table setting. Room accommodations have transitioned from shared to individual use and our recreation facilities (gym, pool table, TV) remain closed. We’ve implemented safety barriers in the necessary areas at the site to conduct construction work. Additionally, to allow for contact traceability, the team has been organized into work cells – groups that work together, share transportation, and share meals shifts.

– Francisco Figueroa, Site Construction Manager (Chile)

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NSF Grant Accelerates Telescope Development

In September, the Giant Magellan Telescope received a $17.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) to accelerate the prototyping and testing of some of the most powerful optical and infrared technologies ever engineered. The grant supports three crucial advancements and retires risk:

1. The build of two phasing testbeds will allow engineers to demonstrate, in a controlled laboratory setting, that its core designs will work to align and phase the telescope’s seven mirror segments with the required precision to achieve diffraction-limited imaging at first light in 2029
2. A full-scale prototype of the primary mirror support and control system that delivers active optical control
3. The partial build and testing of a next-generation Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM), which is used to perform the primary mirror phasing and atmospheric distortion correction.

“Our seven Adaptive Secondary Mirrors take [adaptive optics] technology to the next level,” said Dr. James Fanson, Project Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope. “No one has attempted to use seven ASMs before the Giant Magellan Telescope. They are probably the most advanced tech we have on the telescope, and their success is a top priority. We need to test and validate their performance early on in the project.”

The testbeds will be developed at the University of Arizona Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics (CAAO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), while actuator testing and integration of the primary mirror support will be developed at Texas A&M University. The Adaptive Secondary Mirrors are developed in contract with AdOptica.

This NSF grant positions the Giant Magellan Telescope to be one of the first in a new generation of large telescopes, approximately three times the size of any ground-based optical telescope built to date and capable of achieving ten times better resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Read the Press Release

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Did You Know?

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a member of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), a joint initiative with the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) to provide superior full-sky observing access (both Northern and Southern hemispheres). Upon completion of each telescope, scientists in the US will be able to take advantage of the program’s two pioneering telescopes to carry out transformational research that answers some of humanity’s most pressing questions.

Read About the US-ELTP

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Protection From
Extreme Earthquakes

In November, an independent review panel of internationally renowned experts gave top marks to the Giant Magellan Telescope’s innovative seismic protection system capable of protecting the 13.6-million-pound telescope structure from extreme earthquake damage. The innovative system is unprecedented in the world of telescopes in terms of size and complexity and will pave the way for the next generation in observatory design.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is being constructed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the universe. But while this remote region boasts more than 300 clear nights of the galactic center per year, it is also one of the world’s most seismically active regions. Large earthquakes in Chile can last for more than three minutes and often exceed seven on the surface-wave magnitude scale (Ms).

The seismic protection system — or seismic isolation system — is designed to remain inactive during small “nuisance” earthquakes common at Las Campanas Observatory. The system will only engage during extreme earthquakes that exceed a magnitude of approximately 5 Ms.

The seismic isolation system is located under the pier of the telescope and consists of two lines of defense for seismic protection:

1. Single friction pendulum (SFP) bearings, which isolate the telescope from lateral ground motions during an earthquake
2. Pier recentering system, which can return the telescope and pier to the normal operational position following an earthquake.

Similar to the seismic devices used in bridges and other large structures, the SFP bearings allow the pier to move laterally with respect to the foundations, dissipating energy and keeping the telescope safe. The circular array of 24 bearings have +/- 700mm of motion range and a radius of curvature, which provides a four-second period of lateral motion.

“The ability of the pier to move with respect to the foundations creates an associated need to bring the telescope back to ‘home’ position after a big earthquake,” said Dr. Bruce Bigelow, Site, Enclosure, and Facilities Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

The pier recentering and monitoring system (PRMS) uses a powerful hydraulic system capable of moving over 6,200 metric tons of telescope and pier (roughly half the weight of the Brooklyn Bridge), to return the pier within a few millimeters of its operational position following a major earthquake.

Read the Press Release

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Prototyping the Secondary Mirrors

Cold-Plate and Reference Body integration (left) and coated P72 shell showing the 72 magnets bonded to its back surface (right)

The immense size of the Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirrors requires a powerful adaptive optics system to correct the blurring effects of the atmosphere. The use of the adaptive secondary mirrors (ASMs) allows us to collect incoming light and shape it with an error opposite to the measured atmospheric distortion, resulting in a blur-free image.

“The application of adaptive optics technology to Giant Magellan Telescope will provide future astronomers the ability to image even more distant objects due to the minimized atmospheric distortion effect,” shares Glenn Brossus, Assistant Project Manager for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Exploded view of a GMT adaptive secondary mirror segment showing the key components which include the adaptive face sheet, rigid reference body, electromagnetic actuators, cold plate, and the 6- degrees of freedom segment positioner.

At the heart of each ASM are 675 actuators that can deform or “adapt” the 1.05m diameter, 2mm thick mirror face sheet to the desired shape. The actuators are fixed to a rigid reference body and use electromagnetic force to push and pull on the rare earth magnets that are bonded onto the back of the mirror face sheet. This shape-changing ability allows the mirrors to be continuously adjusted during an exposure. To correct the optical phase error, each secondary mirror segment will move just 4kg of glass rather than a 17-metric ton primary mirror, greatly simplifying overall image control of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Progress continues on the Giant Magellan Telescope ASMs with the development of the subscale prototype. Prototype components for the 72 actuator 0.35m diameter face sheet have been received, assembled, and tested. The prototype face sheet has been coated with aluminum and has 72 magnets bonded to the back surface. With the cold plate and reference body integrated, project engineers are ready for the next stage: optical performance testing.

Learn About Adaptive Optics

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Event Recap: SPIE 2020



This year, SPIE 2020: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation kicked off a virtual forum on December 14–18. Dr. James Fanson, Project Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope, gave an invited talk on the project’s latest status. Additionally, many of the telescope’s project engineers submitted papers and presented.

View More Presentations & Papers

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Join us at AAS 2020

Join the Giant Magellan Telescope at the 237th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), January 10–15, 2021. We’ll be virtually attending in partnership with the US Extremely Large Telescope Program — look for the US-ELTP Virtual Exhibit Booth! Dr. James Fanson, Project Manager of the Giant Magellan Telescope will also be speaking during a special splinter session on the US-ELTP on January 14, 2021 from 4:10–5:40pm.

Register Today

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2020 in the News

2020 was a big news year, here are a few of our top picks:

• Astronomy Magazine | Four new giant telescopes are about to rock astronomy
• CNN/Great Big Story | Building the world’s largest telescope
• Design World | EtherCAT and PC based control for giant telescope automation
• Forbes | A giant leap towards defeating astronomy’s greatest enemy: Earth’s atmosphere
• IndustryWeek | Engineers accomplish earthquake safety design
• NYT | American astronomy’s future goes on trial in Washington
• Optics & Photonics | A deeper view of the cosmos
• PhysicsWorld | Giant Magellan Telescope receives cash injection from the National Science Foundation
• Space.com | Giant Magellan Telescope snags $17.5 million grant to test advanced optics
• SPIE | Casting giants

For news in Spanish and from Chile, please see the Spanish version of our Newsletter.

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Job Opportunities

• Project Business Manager, open until filled
• Quality Assurance Officer, open until filled
• Telescope Structures Manager, open until filled

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Questions and inquires on how to support the Giant Magellan Telescope, please email us at connect@gmto.org

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

International review panel praises the Giant Magellan Telescope’s innovative seismic protection system capable of protecting the 13.6-million-pound telescope structure from earthquake damage in one of the world’s most seismically active regions.

PASADENA, CA — Engineers designing the Giant Magellan Telescope have solved an immense design challenge never attempted before: Protecting a 22-story rotating observatory and seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors from being damaged by earthquakes. The innovative seismic protection design earned top marks from an independent review panel of international experts in November, paving the way for the next generation in observatory design.

“The structures of the next generation of extremely large telescopes are so massive, their instruments so sensitive, and the seismic environments they are located in are so intense, that there’s really no way to avoid seismic protection. We need a seismic isolation system to keep the telescope operational,” said Dr. Bruce Bigelow, the Giant Magellan Telescope’s Site, Enclosure, and Facilities Manager.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a new 30-meter class ground-based telescope being constructed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the best locations on Earth to view the universe. But while this remote region boasts more than 300 clear nights of the galactic center per year, it also is home to some of the biggest, the most frequent, and the most destructive Earthquakes ever recorded. Large earthquakes in Chile can last for more than three minutes and often exceed seven on the surface-wave magnitude scale (MS).

The Giant Magellan Telescope construction site at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, February 2020. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

“Telescopes that have been built in seismically active regions were designed, due to their smaller scale, without explicit seismic mitigation,” said Dr. Dave Ashby, the Giant Magellan Telescope’s Project Engineer. “While most remain operational today, some have incurred costly earthquake damage. The new generation of extremely large telescopes will be built with sophisticated seismic mitigations, including seismic isolation, to balance construction and operational costs over the extended operational service lives of these large facilities.”

The seismic protection system — also known as a seismic isolation system — on the Giant Magellan Telescope is unprecedented in the world of telescopes, in terms of the size and complexity. Unlike hospitals or large bridges, the seismic isolation system needs to not only protect the structures from collapse, but also to prevent the structure and fragile optical components inside from requiring repair. Because the Giant Magellan Telescope’s seismic isolation system serves as the telescope foundation, it must be very reliable. By design, the probability of seismic isolation failure is less than 0.5 percent over the 50-year service life of the observatory. The system is designed to remain inactive during small “nuisance” earthquakes that are common at Las Campanas Observatory. The system will only engage during extreme earthquakes that will typically occur on a 1–2-year time scale.

The Giant Magellan Telescope’s seismic isolation system consists of two lines of defense that keep it safe and allow a return to operations within hours to weeks, depending on the magnitude of a seismic event.

1. Seismic Isolation System: A circular array of 24 single friction pendulum isolators that support the telescope and its pier and protect the telescope’s optical components and instruments from active ground motion caused by a major earthquake.
2. Pier Recentering System: A hydraulic system that can return the 13,602,600-pound telescope structure to its original resting and operational position following a major earthquake.

A circular array of 24 single friction pendulum isolators are located under the Giant Magellan Telescope’s pier that supports the telescope and protects optical components and instruments from active ground motion caused by major earthquakes. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

After a major earthquake, the friction pendulum isolators may not return the telescope exactly back to its normal operation position. “The isolation system will return the telescope to its ‘home’ position within a couple of inches, but that’s not good enough,” said Dr. Bigelow. “That’s where the hydraulics of the pier recentering system come in, which can move the 6,000 metric tons of telescope and pier and return the telescope to a fraction of an inch from where it was before the earthquake.”

Seismic pendulum bearing under full scale test on a 275-ton hydraulic mount with lateral hydraulic ram. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

To validate this revolutionary design, engineers at the Giant Magellan Telescope exposed the design to an independent review panel of internationally renowned experts in seismic isolation systems, very large hydraulic positioning systems, and the formulation and placement of high-strength concrete. Reviewers reported that the preliminary designs have successfully met the seismic protection requirements that, as Dr. Bigelow said, are “absolutely crucial to assuring that the telescope can do its job for 50 years.”

For more information about the Giant Magellan Telescope, visit gmto.org

###

Media Contact
Ryan Kallabis
Director of Communications
rkallabis@gmto.org
(626) 204-0554

Multimedia Resources
Multimedia from the release are available here until January 8, 2021.

Assets may not appear uncredited. Credit line must be given as follows: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

The post How We’ll Find Life in the Universe appeared first on Giant Magellan Telescope.

The Giant Magellan Telescope fast-tracks development of revolutionary optical technologies necessary to transform humanity’s view and understanding of the universe at first light

PASADENA, CA — The GMTO Corporation has received a $17.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to accelerate the prototyping and testing of some of the most powerful optical and infrared technologies ever engineered. These crucial advancements for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile will allow astronomers to see farther into space with more detail than any other optical telescope before. The NSF grant positions the GMT to be one of the first in a new generation of large telescopes, approximately three times the size of any ground-based optical telescope built to date.

The GMT and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) are a part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), a joint initiative with NSF’s NOIRLab to provide superior observing access to the entire sky as never before. Upon completion of each telescope, US scientists and international partners will be able to take advantage of the program’s two pioneering telescopes to carry out transformational research that answers some of humanity’s most pressing questions, such as are we alone in the universe and where did we come from.

“We are honored to receive our first NSF grant,” said Dr. Robert Shelton, President of the GMTO Corporation. “It is a giant step toward realizing the GMT’s scientific goals and the profound impact the GMT will have on the future of human knowledge.”

https://www.gmto.org/wp-content/uploads/NSF20Award20Announcement-5.mp4

 

One of the great challenges of engineering revolutionary technologies is constructing them to operate at optimal performance. The Giant Magellan Telescope is designed to have a resolving power ten times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope — one of the most productive scientific achievements in the history of astronomy. This advancement in image quality is a prerequisite for the GMT to fully realize its scientific potential and expand our knowledge of the universe.

“Image quality on any telescope starts with the primary mirror,” said Dr. James Fanson, Project Manager of the GMTO Corporation. “The Giant Magellan Telescope’s primary mirror comprises seven 8.4m mirror segments. To achieve diffraction-limited imaging, we have to be able to phase these primary mirror segments so that they behave as a monolithic mirror. Once phased, we must then correct for Earth’s turbulent atmospheric distortion.”

This image quality comparison is of a small patch of sky as observed from the ground through the atmosphere with the naked eye (left), as the Hubble Space Telescope would observe it (center), and a simulation of the Giant Magellan Telescope using adaptive optics to achieve diffraction limited seeing from the ground (right). When online, the GMT will achieve ten times better resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

Phasing involves precisely aligning a telescope’s segmented mirrors and other optical components so that they work in unison to produce crisp images of deep space. Achieving this with seven of the world’s largest mirrors ever built is no easy task. The immense size of the GMT’s primary mirror requires a powerful adaptive optics system to correct for the blurring effects of the Earth’s atmospheric turbulence at kilohertz speeds. In other words, astronomers need to take the subtle “twinkle” out of the stars in order to capture high-resolution data from celestial objects thousands of light-years from our planet.

The NSF grant enables the GMT to build two phasing testbeds that will allow engineers to demonstrate, in a controlled laboratory setting, that its core designs will work to align and phase the telescope’s seven mirror segments with the required precision to achieve diffraction-limited imaging at first light in 2029. This includes a full-scale prototype of the primary mirror support and control system that delivers active optical control. The testbeds will be developed at the University of Arizona Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics (CAAO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), while actuator testing and integration of the primary mirror support will be developed at Texas A&M University.

A gray steel structure that simulates one of the massive 16.5 ton Giant Magellan Telescope primary mirror segments is installed onto a test cell. The GMT test cell and mirror simulator will be used to test the support structure and actuators that hold the massive telescope in place, including the software that controls the precise movements of the mirrors. Image Credit: Steve West, Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona

The NSF grant also enables the partial build and testing of a next-generation Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM), which is used to perform the primary mirror phasing and atmospheric distortion correction. This work will be developed in contract with AdOptica.

“Our seven Adaptive Secondary Mirrors take this technology to the next step,” said Dr. Fanson. “No one has attempted to use seven ASMs before the Giant Magellan Telescope. They are probably the most advanced tech we have on the telescope, and their success is a top priority. We need to test and validate their performance early on in the project.”

Exploded view of a Giant Magellan Telescope’s adaptive secondary mirror segment showing the key components which include the adaptive face sheet, rigid reference body, electromagnetic actuators, cold plate, and the 6- degrees-of-freedom segment positioner. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation

Astronomers will use the GMT’s high-fidelity adaptive mirrors and other revolutionary adaptive optics technologies to detect faint biosignatures from distant exoplanets — one of the GMT’s primary scientific goals.

This work is part of a larger $23 million joint-award to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and the GMTO Corporation over the next three years. The GMT project is the work of a distinguished international consortium of leading universities and science institutions.

 

Media Contact
Ryan Kallabis
Director of Communications
rkallabis@gmto.org
(626) 204-0554

Multimedia Resources
Additional images from the release are available here until September 23, 2020.

Assets may not appear uncredited. Credit line must be given as follows: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

 

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

The team at GMTO Corporation is celebrating the life of astronomer João Evangelista Steiner, who died unexpectedly on September 10, 2020. As a professor at the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of São Paulo, Dr. Steiner made remarkable contributions to the Brazilian and international astronomical communities.

GMTO President, Robert Shelton, first met Dr. Steiner at the dedication of the SOAR telescope, many years ago. In addition to his contributions scientifically, Shelton was impressed from this first meeting with his kindness toward others. He was an extraordinary individual.

Dr. Steiner joined the GMT project representing the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in 2015. Upon joining, he said that “the GMT project will help ensure that Brazilian astronomers remain at the forefront of research for decades to come.”

His leadership, advocacy, and friendship at GMTO will be greatly missed.

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

 

A significant milestone for GMTO’s primary mirror controls team recently took place at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona – the bringing together of the mirror simulator, the prototype mirror cell, and the test cell. Read more about the simulator, how it came together, and the planned tests here.

The Pursuit of Light: Building the GMT

GMTO Chief Scientist Rebecca Bernstein gave a 20-minute presentation touching on the history of astronomy and highlighting the capabilities and progress of the GMT.

–Visit Carnegie’s site to view the presentation.

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

A fines de mayo de 2020, los socios del Programa de Telescopios Extremadamente Grandes de EE. UU. (US-ELTP) presentaron conjuntamente tres propuestas de Planificación y Diseño a la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias de Estados Unidos (NSF). Los socios de US-ELTP incluyen a: NOIRLab de NSF, administrado por la Asociación de Universidades para la Investigación en Astronomía, Inc. (AURA), la Corporación Telescopio Magallanes Gigante (GMTO) y el Observatorio Internacional del Telescopio de Treinta Metros (TIO).

La recomendación del Estudio Decenal de Astronomía y Astrofísica de las Academias Nacionales (Astro2020), que se espera para la primera mitad de 2021, y la preparación del Telescopio Magallanes Gigante y el Telescopio de Treinta Metros para iniciar al proceso de revisión de las grandes instalaciones de NSF, son pasos importantes que están por venir. No obstante, los socios ven la presentación de estas propuestas como un hito importante en la evaluación de todos los aspectos del programa.

El concepto subyacente de US-ELTP presentado a NSF como parte de esta propuesta sigue siendo coherente con la visión que los socios presentaron en el Panel de Observaciones Ópticas e Infrarrojas Terrestres de las Academias Nacionales Astro2020 en febrero de 2020. El plan para el US-ELTP sigue siendo ser un sistema complementario de telescopios extremadamente grandes en ambos hemisferios que proporcionarían a la comunidad científica de EE.UU. acceso al 100% del cielo nocturno para realizar la próxima generación de descubrimientos sobre nuestro universo. Chile es el sitio propuesto para el Telescopio Magallanes Gigante en el sur, y para el norte, Maunakea, Hawai’i, EE. UU., es el sitio principal propuesto para el Telescopio de Treinta Metros, siendo el sitio de La Palma, en Islas Canarias, España, la opción alternativa.

For this statement in English, please click here.

Para leer esta declaración en inglés, por favor ingrese aquí.

Joint Statement regarding the submission of the “Planning and Design for a US Extremely Large Telescope Program” proposals to the National Science Foundation

At the end of May 2020, the partners of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) jointly submitted three Planning and Design proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF).  The US-ELTP partners include: NSF’s NOIRLab, managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), the Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation (GMTO), and the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO).

The recommendation of the National Academies’ Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020), which is currently expected in the first half of 2021, and the readiness of the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope to enter NSF’s major facilities review process would be important next steps.   Nonetheless, the partners view the submission of these proposals as an important milestone in the evaluation of all aspects of the program.

The underlying US-ELTP concept presented to NSF as part of this proposal remains consistent with the vision the partners presented to the National Academies’ Astro2020’s Panel on Optical and Infrared Observations from the Ground in February 2020.   The plan for the US-ELTP continues to be a two-hemisphere system of complementary ELT-class telescopes that would provide the US science community with access to 100% of the night sky to make the next generation of discoveries about our Universe.  Chile is the proposed site for the Giant Magellan Telescope in the south, and for the north, Maunakea, Hawai’i, USA is the proposed primary site for the Thirty Meter Telescope, with La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain as the back-up site.

For this statement in Spanish, please click here.

Para leer esta declaración en español, por favor ingrese aquí.

The U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP)

NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA)

Giant Magellan Telescope; GMTO Corporation (GMTO)

Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO)

Media Contacts

AURA: Shari Lifson, slifson@aura-astronomy.org, (202) 769-5232

GMTO: Dr. Cindy Hunt, cindy.hunt@gmto.org, (626) 204-0510

TIO: Dr. Gordon Squires, media@tmt.org, (808) 284-9922

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 2018

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. Find more details in the Science Book

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.

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 GB

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 Corporatio

The post New Stars Found in the Milky Way Were Born Outside of It appeared first on Giant Magellan Telescope.

Contents

• Welcome
• Mirror Simulator Installed
• Welcome New Board Director
• Unusual Winter Snowfall at the GMT Site
• Once in a Decade Presentation
• US-ELT Program at the American Astronomical Society Meeting

Welcome

Dear Friends,

During these uncertain times of COVID-19, GMTO closed our offices in Pasadena and Santiago in mid-March, but that action has not slowed our work. Our team continues to make progress while working from home via videoconferences. At the telescope site, we completed an important upgrade to the water facilities, then shut down all activities, keeping a skeleton crew for security, safety, and maintenance. In the US, like many businesses we are rolling out our protocols for reopening the offices. At GMTO, we are also stressing flexibility for our employees to continue to make progress in building the telescope.  

This newsletter covers a wide range of exciting activities from the first half of this year. Work on the mirror simulator, fabricated at CAID Industries and installed on the test cell at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, has been moving forward with our partners. Early this year, GMTO welcomed our newest member of the Board of Directors, Dr. Sung Hyun Park of Korea who is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Statistics at Seoul National University. At the beginning of the year, GMTO attended the 235th American Astronomical Society meeting in Hawaii, and we also presented to the Astro2020 Panel on Optical and Infrared Observatories from the Ground in Washington, DC. I am excited to share these updates and more with you.  

Dr. Robert Shelton – President, GMTO

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Mirror Simulator Installed

A significant milestone for GMTO’s primary mirror controls team recently took place at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona – the bringing together of the mirror simulator, the prototype mirror cell, and the test cell. The mirror simulator is currently resting on top of the static supports attaching it to the test cell top plate. For this procedure, the mirror simulator was gently lowered into the prototype mirror cell until the static supports flex imperceptibly and are fully supporting the simulator representing a crucial dress rehearsal for the process of integrating a glass mirror. 

The mirror simulator is a round piece of steel, weighing approximately 14,000kg – somewhat lighter than a glass GMT mirror. The underneath of the simulator looks like a bed of nails – it has a vast array of “interface features” that attach to the mechanisms that support and control the mirrors – the single and triple actuators, the hardpoints, and the static supports. The simulator’s purpose is not to mimic a primary mirror exactly, but to validate the mirror support system, both in hardware and software.

Mirror simulator move from CAID Industries in Tucson to the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona, February 2020. Image credit: Zaven Kechichian.

The prototype mirror cell weldment (the steel part of the mirror cell) measures 8.6 m long, 10 m wide by 1.8 m tall, and weighs about 22,700 kg. Its role is to hold all the different support mechanisms that the mirror requires to keep its shape. The weldment was designed by engineers at GMTO and was manufactured at CAID Industries in Arizona. The weldment plus support system comprises the Mirror Cell. 

The support system for each off-axis mirror consists of 170 pneumatic actuators and 326 static supports and a few less for the center segment. The actuators are designed to lift and shape the mirrors, and their most important component is a “load cell” which measures how much force the actuator is applying to the mirror – too little and the mirror won’t move, too much and excess stress could be placed on the mirror. To make sure the load cells are making accurate measurements, they need to be calibrated, which GMTO’s software team has been working on. The team has created an Actuator Calibration Stand (ACS) that can calibrate a single actuator in less than an hour. A second ACS that can mimic the sideways force on actuators when the telescope is tilted has also been developed. These ACS’s will be delivered to the Mirror Lab. 

The mechanical parts of the actuators are being assembled at Texas A&M University and are being delivered to the Mirror Lab, where the electronics are being integrated. The actuators are then calibrated by the ACS. Even with one calibration taking less than an hour, with 170 to do for each of the seven mirrors, this part of the process will take months!  

In parallel, the Software team has been working on the software control system for the actuators. This software needs to be able to send commands and read back the results to all 170 actuators of a mirror in 10 milliseconds. The software they are creating will be the “production” software used on the actual telescope. The team can achieve this because they can test it on a very close analog to the final system and thus save years of software simulations. 

At the Mirror Lab, GMTO and UA engineers spent time earlier this year installing static supports onto its top plate in preparation for receiving the mirror simulator. Static supports are designed to hold the mirror when it’s at rest and to catch it during an earthquake.  

Static supports prior to the simulator integration, June 2020. Image credit: Steven West/Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona

Closeup of the static supports, June 2020. Image credit: Steven West/Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona

The GMTO team and UA team have become highly integrated over the past few months as work on this project continues. By the time the testing of the control system with the simulator is complete, and the team is ready to integrate a real glass mirror, the project will have gained a great deal of knowledge about how we can phase and control the primary mirrors.  

Lowering the simulator onto the test cell, June 2020. Image credit: Steven West/Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona

Mirror simulator installed, June 2020. Image credit: Steven West/Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona

Back to Top

Welcome New Board Director

Dr. Syung Hyun Park

GMTO welcomes our newest member of the Board of Directors, Dr. Sung Hyun Park of Korea. Dr. Park is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Statistics at Seoul National University and the President of the Social Responsibility and Management Quality Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea, and he holds a certification as an Academician by the International Academy for Quality (IAQ). Dr. Park currently serves on the Korean Foundation for Quality Board of Directors.  

Dr. Park has had a distinguished career. Last year, he received the 2019 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. He previously served as the President and Board member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, as well as the Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and the Office of Student Affairs at Seoul National University. He was the President of the Korean Society for Quality Management as well as the President of the Korean Statistical Society. He was the Director of the Directorate of Basic Research in Science and Engineering, National Research Foundation of Korea. Additionally, he was a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology for the Korean Government. He received the Order of Service Merit Red Stripes Medal as well as the Order of Science & Technology Merit Innovation Medal from the President of the Korean Government.  

When asked what sparked his interest in joining the GMTO Board of Directors, Dr. Park shared, “I am proud of the fact that the KASI (Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute) is participating in the GMT Project. As a past president of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, I would like to strongly support the GMT Project.”  

Dr. Park shared the scientific discoveries he’s most looking forward to with the GMT stating, “when the GMT is in operations in the future, I will be most excited to have some knowledge ‘toward understanding how planets formed and how human beings came to earth in the beginning’.” 

 To learn more about GMTO’s Board of Directors, please visit GMTO’s website. 

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Unusual Winter Snowfall at the GMT Site

GMT Site, June 2020

GMT Summit Office, June 2020

The Giant Magellan Telescope is being constructed in one of the highest and driest regions on earth, Chile’s Atacama Desert. While the GMT will have spectacular conditions for more than 300 nights a year, the rare winter storm does happen like it did a few weeks ago. Las Campanas Peak (“Cerro Las Campanas”), where the GMT will be located, has an altitude of over 2,550 meters or approximately 8,500 feet. The combination of seeing, number of clear nights, altitude, weather, and vegetation make Las Campanas Peak an ideal location for the GMT.

Site construction is paused as a safety precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we look forward to when our staff is able to safely return to work at the site. Amidst this pause, the GMT site welcomed the first day of winter with an unusual amount of snowfall for this generally dry and arid location.

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Once in a Decade Presentation

Astro2020 Panel, February 2020. Image credit: James Fanson

In late February, several GMTO staff traveled to Washington, DC, for a meeting with the Astro2020 Panel on Optical and Infrared Observatories from the Ground. Every ten years, the astronomy community evaluates and prioritizes the cutting-edge science topics and the missions in space and on the ground to make recommendations to the US federal funding agencies. This decadal process is led by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The process starts with a call for white papers from the community on scientific topics of the highest priority for the coming decade and the technical programs needed to support them (computing, space programs, ground-based programs) and the state of the profession overall. Individual panels evaluate the science and projects on the horizon for the coming decade, and the steering committee compiles and issues a final report, expected early 2021.

The US ELT Program was selected to present an overview of the scientific and technical case for the joint project at the National Academies’ Keck Center near the Penn Quarter of the city for an entire afternoon session. The team presented information about the GMT and the US ELT Program alongside representatives from NOIRLab and the Thirty Meter Telescope Project. The GMT and TMT Project Managers gave comprehensive updates while the GMTO Chief Scientist and TMT SAC Chair described the technical and scientific capabilities that the two-hemisphere program will enable. The NOIRLab presented on their work to provide both observing and data access to the US Community. The panel asked questions about instrumentation, funding strategies, operational models, as well as other topics.

The presentations to the Astro2020 panel were the culmination of months of intensive effort, as well as 18 months of targeted interaction with the community to develop program support. The GMTO team responded in writing to multiple Requests for Information from the panel prior to this meeting and answered detailed questions related to the science, technology, and programmatic issues surrounding the individual telescopes (GMT and TMT) and the entirety of the US ELT Program. It is a testament to the profile and importance of the US ELT Program that observers joined the presentations in person from the National Science Foundation, the Kavli Foundation, and the New York Times, and a broad audience connected online. 

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US-ELT Program at the American Astronomical Society Meeting

At the beginning of the year, GMTO attended the 235th American Astronomical Society meeting in Honolulu, HI, as part of the US ELT Program, a partnership with NOIRLab and the Thirty Meter Telescope Project. The US ELT Program hosted a social open house, a scientific meeting, and a shared booth in the exhibit hall. 

The open house encouraged the community to ask questions of the US ELT Program leadership and find out more about the program. There were briefings on the technical and scientific synergies that will be achieved by the combined power of the GMT and TMT. Dr. Patrick McCarthy, Director of NOIRLab, Dr. Rebecca Bernstein, GMTO Chief Scientist, and Dr. Jessica Lu, faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, presented at this session.  

The scientific meeting started with project status updates from Dr. James Fanson, GMTO Project Manager, and Dr. Mike Bolte, TMT Board Member. Following this, members of the astronomical community gave brief scientific presentations. Dr. Nikole Lewis of Cornell University talked about extrasolar planetary systems, Dr. Jonelle Walsh of Texas A&M University discussed the dynamical searches for black holes with ELTs, and Dr. Francis-Yan Cyr-Racine of the University of New Mexico outlined the cosmological applications of gravitational lensing. 

The events were well attended by the community, and we enjoyed the great questions about the US ELT Program and the two telescopes. For more information about the US ELT Program, please visit the NOIRLab website.

235th AAS Meeting Exhibit Booth, January 2020

235th AAS Meeting Presentation, January 2020

235th AAS Meeting Exhibit Booth, January 2020

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A new generation of ‘extremely large’ telescopes is being built in earthquake-prone areas. How will engineers protect these massive machines?

“We believed we could resolve our seismic challenges without an extreme measure of seismic isolation,” said GMT project designer Dave Ashby. “It’s actually a pretty compact design. However, once we actually started to explore the risk exposure in a quantitative way, we rapidly came to the conclusion that that wasn’t practical.”

–Read the full story at SPIE