Has anyone heard of that massive telescope?

Question

Some guy ( I can't recall who ) wants to build a massive telescope kind of thing, in some gigantic crater or something. It's supposed to be able to see into the atmospheres, etc of distant planets... has anyone heard of this? And is this even possible from an engineering point of view?

Also do you know the name of the guy who wanted to do this?

Answer 1

Yeah, I saw an episode of the "Universe" on the History Channel about a guy and an engineering team working on a telescope too be able to spot earthlike planets in nearby starsystems. They would also be able to see the atmosphere.

Biggest telescope mirror on its way
Larry O'Hanlon
Discovery News
Thursday, 28 July 2005



Astronomers have begun casting the first of seven giant light-collecting mirrors that will ultimately comprise a telescope four-and-a-half times larger than any other optical scope.

The 22 metre wide, Earth-based Giant Magellan Telescope will have 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Some 20 tonnes of glass for one of the 8.4 metre wide mirrors of the Giant Magellan Telescope was recently placed in a spinning furnace at the University of Arizona to melt and mould the glass into what will eventually be a gently curved mirror.

The mirror will concentrate starlight onto a smaller 'secondary' mirror that will morph to counteract any of the distortions caused by the Earth's atmosphere.

The secondary mirror will then reflect the corrected, sharpened light from all seven mirrors to the focus point, equivalent to the eyepiece on a small telescope.

"Each mirror will take about three-and-a-half years to make," says Matt Johns, director of Carnegie Observatories and the telescope's project manager.

The melting and casting of the borosilicate glass, which is strong heat resistant, is just the beginning.

Each mirror also has to be tested, using methods that the builders expect to learn along the way.

"After they get going they ought to have four being built at any one time, completing one every 12 months," says Johns.


Preparing the mould of one of the seven giant mirrors (Image: Lori Stiles, University of Arizona)
Six of the mirrors will eventually surround a central mirror, and so the six big off-axis mirrors have to be built slightly off kilter, 15 millimetres higher on one side, to aim the light correctly to the secondary mirror, Johns says.

Smaller off-axis mirrors have been made, but nothing on this scale of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

The telescope is using seven mirrors instead of one huge mirror because it's just not practical to build, transport or install such a large mirror, John's says.

The telescope is expected to be housed on a mountaintop in Chile and be operating by 2016.

All the work ought to pay off with some amazing science discoveries, says Dr Patrick McCarthy, also of the Carnegie Observatories.

"One of the key science goals is to actually image planets around other stars," he says.

The telescope will be able to collect light and magnify a tiny patch of sky to enable astronomers to see further back in time.

That means astronomers will be able to gain new insight into the formation of early galaxies and how massive black holes formed, says McCarthy.

The telescope is being built by the Carnegie Observatories, Harvard University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, University of Arizona, University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M University.

Answer 2

It most likely is possible, but not practical. The Hubble space telescope gives us the most far-reaching and detailed pictures possible today, since it's OUTSIDE our atmosphere. The atmosphere actually blocks the viewing of many distant phenomenon, because of the dust and pollutants in the air.

Answer 3

You may be thinking of a not serious proposal to put build a telescope on the far side of the moon. The lens would actually be a thin layer of mercury over a slowly spinning parabolic bowl in the ground. The centrifugal force of the spinning would keep the mercury in place.

Here's some info:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/liquid_mirror_000924.html

Answer 4

Are you thinking of Roger Angel and his giant liquid telescope?

Answer 5

There are so many new telescopes
proposed every year that they even
keep a list of the most unfeasible ones
in the NSF headquarters.