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

[Ron Baalke]

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

GMT Press Release

Giant Magellan Telescope's Third Mirror Unveiled

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contacts:

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

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

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

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

Media Contact:

Jacqueline Efron, Zeno Group for GMTO
jacqueline.efron at zenogroup.com, o: (650) 801-0942 · m: (650) 600-2448