"First Light" for the Large Binocular Telescope (Forwarded)

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Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science
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Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg
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October 26th, 2005

News SP / 2005 (54)

"First Light" for the Large Binocular Telescope

The largest and most modern single telescope in the world has provided
its first images of the heavens, and German astronomers made a
significant contribution

The two mirrors of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) have produced
their first scientific images of space. The event, known among
astronomers as 'first light', is a major milestone in the launch of the
largest and most modern single telescope in the world. The LBT will be
able to see more clearly and more deeply into the universe than any of
its predecessors. Led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, five
German institutes participated, garnering a total of 25 percent of the
observation time. Among them were the Max Planck Institutes for
Astronomy in Heidelberg, Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, and for
Radio Astronomy in Bonn, as well as the Landessternwarte (state
observatory), part of the Centre for Astronomy in Heidelberg.

The Large Binocular Telescope, positioned on the 3190-meter high Mount
Graham in Arizona, is one of the most prominent scientific-technical
projects in modern astronomical research. Its name describes it well: it
has two giant mirrors, each of them with a diameter of 8.4 metres. They
are mounted onto the same surface, and focussed, like field glasses, at
the same time on distant space objects. The surface of the mirrors is
polished with extreme precision, down to one 20 millionth of a
millimetre. If an LBT mirror were enlarged to the size of Lake Constance
in the Alps -- just slightly larger than the area of New York City --
the 'waves' on the lake would be only one-fifth of a millimetre high. In
spite of their size, each of the two mirrors 'only' weighs 16 tonnes. A
classical telescope, on the other hand, at the dimensions of the LBT,
would have thick mirrors weighing some 100 tonnes. It would be
impossible to construct such a large classical telescope.

By combining the optical paths of the two individual mirrors, the LBT
collects as much light as a telescope whose mirrors have a diameter of
11.8 meters. This is a factor of 24 larger than the 2.4 metre mirrors of
the Hubble Space Telescope. Even more importantly, the LBT has the
resolution of a 22.8 metre telescope, because it uses the most modern
adaptive optics, superimposing pictures with an interferometric
procedure. The astronomers are thus able to compensate for the blurring
caused by air turbulence, and see into the universe much more clearly
than Hubble.

Professor Thomas Henning, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute
for Astronomy, and Dr Tom Herbst, a scientist in the German consortium,
both agree that "The LBT will open completely new possibilities in
researching planets outside the solar system and the investigation of
the furthest -- and thus youngest -- galaxies."

Professor Gerd Weigelt, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Radio
Astronomy in Bonn, says that "The first LBT pictures give us an idea of
what kind of fascinating picture quality we can expect." Although in the
beginning, the pictures are 'only' being collected with one of the two
main mirrors, they are already showing an impressive view of the distant
Milky Way. One of them is of an object in the constellation Andromeda
called NGC891, a spiral galaxy 24 million light years away, which, from
the earth's perspective, we can only see from the side. According to
Professor Reinhard Genzel, the Managing Director of the Max Planck
Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, "The object is of
particular interest to astronomers, because it also sends out a lot of
x-rays. This radiation was created by a large number of massive stars
whose lives come to an end with spectacular supernova explosions -- a
kind of cosmic fireworks."

The pictures were created using a high-tech Large Binocular Camera
(LBC), developed by Italian partners in the project. The camera and
telescope work together like a giant digital camera. Thanks to the
particularly large field of view, very efficient observations are
possible -- for example, the creation and development of distant
galaxies with weak light.

But the LBC camera is just the first of a whole line of high-tech
instruments with which the LBT will be equipped in the future. "A
telescope without instruments is like an eye without a retina," says
Professor Hans-Walter Rix, Director of the Max Planck Institute for
Astronomy. The scientist, a member of the LBT project for many years,
adds that "a telescope like the LBT only becomes a powerful observatory
in combination with powerful measuring instruments that are equipped
with sensitive detectors."

German partners especially participated in the development and
construction of the instruments, and thus were able to secure for
themselves 25 percent of observation time. Scientists, technicians, and
electricians from the LBT-Beteilungsgesellschaft (LBT participation
group) built the control software LUCIFER 1 and 2, which makes it
possible to gather infrared pictures and spectra of heavenly objects. Dr
Immo Appenzeller of the Landessternwarte Heidelberg calls it "important
for detailed investigations of a great number of galaxies at different
stages of development."

Professors Matthias Steinmetz and Klaus Strassmeier, the Directors of
the Astrophysics Institute in Potsdam, explain that "the PEPSI
instrument is a particularly high resolution version of what is called
an Echelle spectrograph. With it, we can conduct particularly effective
investigations of the structure and dynamics of the surface of stars."
At the Institute, the Acquisition, Guiding, and Wavefront sensing units
are being built, which are responsible for the exact tracking of the
telescope, as well as for mirror adjustments.

The LINC-NIRVANA instrument has also been built to ensure that the LBT
and its instruments stay at full effectiveness. The LINC-NIRVANA, built
in co-operation with Italian partners, is the heart of the LBT. It
brings the light from two main mirrors to a single focal plane and
corrects for picture interference due to the earth's atmosphere. The
highest demands are being placed on the optical, electronic, and
mechanical components, because when being used in the infrared spectrum,
parts of the LINC-NIRVANA must be cooled to minus 196 degrees in order
not to be 'blinded' by heat radiation around it. In this field of
'cryotechnology', scientists and technicians from the Max Planck
Institute for Astronomy have shown great expertise.

Because of the impressive first pictures, the astronomers now know that
more than 20 years of planning, development, and construction have paid
off, and that the 120 million dollar project is on the way to offering
new insights into the cosmos. This was indeed the goal of the people who
initiated German participation in the project, among them Professor
Günther Hasinger (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics,
formerly of the Astrophysical Institute in Potsdam) and Professor Steven
Beckwith (formerly of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy). But it is
not only the scientists who have participated in the project for such a
long time that will profit from the LBT's observations. Now, students
and future scientists at all the partner institutes will have the chance
to analyse LBT data and initiate new observation projects.

Participation:

LBT is a joint American-German-Italian project. The German participation
of 25 percent is divided among five non-university institutes, brought
together into the LBT-Beteilungsgesellschaft:

* Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg
(in charge of the LBT-Beteilungsgesellschaft and LINC-NIRVANA;
participated in LUCIFER)
* Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching
(in charge of HARDPOINTS to adjust the main mirrors, participated in
LUCIFER)
* Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn
(participated in LINC-NIRVANA)
* Astrophysical Institute, Potsdam
(in charge of PEPSI and AGW)
* Landessternwarte Heidelberg
(in charge of LUCIFER, participated in AGW)

The Italian participation of 25 percent was maintained by the INAF
consortium, to which 13 observatories around the country belong.

The American participation of 50 percent was divided as follows:

University of Arizona 25 percent
Ohio State University 12.5 percent
Research Corporation 12.5 percent
(Universities of Notre Dame, Minnesota, Virginia, and more)

Note for TV journalists:

The first film material with LBT pictures and more will be made
available on October 26, 2005, via satellite.

A video news release of the "first light" images from the Large
Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham in Arizona will be available
via satellite at two separate times on Wednesday, October 26:

5:00 AM - 5:15 AM (P.S.T) / 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM (E.D.T.) / 2:00 PM - 2:15
PM (C.E.T.)
and
7:00 AM - 7:15 AM (P.S.T) / 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM (E.D.T.) / 4:00 PM -
4:15 PM (C.E.T.)

The relevant information on the satellite feed is as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Time: 5:00 AM - 5:15 AM (P.S.T) / 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM (E.D.T.) / 2:00 PM -
2:15 PM (C.E.T.)
7:00 AM - 7:15 AM (P.S.T) / 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM (E.D.T.) / 4:00 PM -
4:15 PM (C.E.T.)

Location:
C-Band Uplink:
Transponder: IA 6C-11
Uplink Freq: 6145 MHz (H)
Downlink Freq: 3920 MHz (V)

Ku-Band Uplink:
Channel: T12K-13D1 4.5 MHz
Uplink Freq: 14272.000 (H)
Downlink Freq: 11472.000 (H)

To obtain this feed via fiber, contact Vyvx Booking at 800-648-333 and
ask for the "LBT - 1st Light" feed.

Related links:

[1] LBT information site
http://www.mpia.de/Public/menu.php?A...051026_de.html

[2] See the LBT "First Light" image here on 26 October 2005
http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/lbto/FL/main.htm