The Big Bear Solar Observatory, located high above sea level at Big Bear Lake, California.
Super-scope to study the Sun
5 Jun 2009
A new solar telescope—the largest of its kind in the world—is now operational. The unveiling of this remarkable Sun-studying instrument is said by some to be the pathfinder for all future, large ground-based telescopes.
"We are already seeing images offering a better understanding of the Sun," said Philip R. Goode, director of Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). "With this instrument we should be able to have a better understanding of dynamic storms and space weather—which can have dramatic effects on Earth."
Although the telescope is now operational, at least three more years of work will be needed to bring on-line ever-more sophisticated hardware for observing the Sun.
Goode says that the Sun is now in a state of prolonged magnetic inactivity, perhaps the longest such time in a century. "The new telescope is ideal for studying the Sun as it rises from this strange state of quietude," he added.
The new instrument is three times the size of the Observatory's old telescope. It represents a significant advance in high-resolution observations of the Sun, since it has the largest aperture of any solar telescope in existence, said Goode. And since it is an "off-axis" telescope, there is no part of the sunlight blocked by the telescope.
The new telescope will be used in joint observation campaigns with NASA satellites to optimise the scientific output of all observations of the Sun.
The telescope is filled with new technologies. The extremely precise measurements of the mirror's shape required the application, for the first time, of a computer-generated hologram. The development of this technology will be essential for producing the next generation of even-larger nighttime telescopes. The final error in the primary mirror is only a few parts in a billion from its desired parabolic shape.
Adapted from information issued by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
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