Product category:
Cameras and imaging systems
News Release from: Optical Surfaces | Subject: Precsion mirrors
Edited by the Laboratorytalk Editorial
Team on 23 December 2002
Identical mirrors chosen for Gemini
telescopes
Optical Surfaces has been selected by EOS Technologies to supply two identical 480mm diameter off-axis paraboloids for laser launch telescopes
Optical Surfaces has been selected by EOS Technologies Inc (EOST) to supply two identical 480mm diameter off-axis paraboloids for laser launch telescopes to be installed in each of the twin Gemini 8m telescopes The twin Gemini telescopes were designed to exploit the infrared portion of the spectrum, and together are able to cover the entire celestial sphere
This article was originally published on Laboratorytalk on 29 Oct 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The telescopes are located in the Northern Hemisphere on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii and in the Southern Hemisphere atop Cerro Pach¢n in Chile.
EOST, the prime contractor for the design, assembly and integration of the two laser launch telescopes, chose Optical Surfaces from an international list of astronomical optics suppliers.
The Laser Launch Telescopes will direct a sodium laser beam into the upper atmosphere where the beam will excite sodium atoms, generating an artificial guide star.
The Laser Launch Telescopes must direct as much energy as possible into the sky and so an off-axis (no obscuration) design has been adopted for each telescope.
To ensure the highest beam quality Optical Surfaces will be required to produce two identical mirrors of 1.6 metres focal length from a single billet of Ultra Low Expansion (ULE) glass.
To produce the required exacting surface finish and accuracy (<10 nm ) on two identical mirrors will draw upon Optical Surfaces Ltd's proven record in manufacturing, mounting and testing demanding high precision optics for astronomy and space projects.
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