Large Binocular Telescope to be Dedicated in October 2004

LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE TO BE DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 2004

Dedication Ceremony in Tucson, Ariz., Will Unveil the World's Most Powerful
Ground-Based Telescope to an International Audience

Contact: Matt Smith,
520-321-1111
LBT Corp.

Vern Lamplot,
520-621-1877
University of Arizona News Services

Dr. Jakob Staude,
+49 6221 528 229
Max-Planck Society

D. E. Liebscher,
+49 (0)3317 499 366
Astrophysics Institute of Potsdam

Leopoldo Benacchio,
+39-0498293411
Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica

Melissa L. Weber,
614-292-2254
The Ohio State University

Randy Wedin,
952-475-3970
The Research Corp.

The LBT Corporation announced today that the dedication ceremonies for the
Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) will be held Oct. 15. This scientific
achievement will be marked by a formal dedication dinner for partners and
their guests. The media is invited to attend tours of the LBT and Arizona
astronomy facilities in advance of the dedication.

The $120 million LBT is located on Mount Graham near Safford, Ariz. When
fully operational in 2005, it will be the most technologically advanced
ground-based telescope in the world. The LBT is unlike any other telescope
because it utilizes twin 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) "honeycomb" mirrors that sit
on a single mount. The mirrors are more rigid and lighter weight than
conventional solid-glass mirrors and together will collect more light than
any existing single telescope.

In another major innovation, the telescope is also equipped with adaptive
optics secondary mirrors, which correct in real time the wavefront
distortion and, hence, image blurring caused by atmospheric turbulence.
This results in much sharper images and allows astronomers to see objects
deeper into space. Still sharper images can be obtained by combining the
light from the two primary mirrors in the so-called "interferometric
imaging" mode, which will yield images of faint celestial objects that are
ten times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Peter A. Strittmatter, president of the LBT Corp., said, "This is a
momentous occasion for everyone involved in this ground-breaking effort to
take space exploration to the next level. The LBT will provide us with an
unparalleled view of the Universe from the earliest epochs and provide major
new capabilities for the study of exo-solar planets and the possibilities of
life outside our solar system. We are extremely excited by the
possibilities presented by the LBT and relish the opportunity to welcome the
world to Southern Arizona to showcase this telescope."

John P. Schaefer, chairman of the LBT Corp. Board of Directors and president
of the Research Corporation said, "The LBT project is a remarkable
scientific achievement made possible through an unprecedented spirit of
international cooperation. The LBT has grown from an idea on paper to an
international partnership of over 15 institutions from around the world
contributing directly to its successful implementation. This achievement is
a tribute to what can be done when great minds come together."

The LBT is a collaborative project that brings together numerous astronomy
and academic institutions in the United States and Europe. In addition to
the financial commitment, each partner's unique expertise ensures this will
be the most advanced ground-based telescope ever constructed. Core
partners, their ownership interest, and examples of their contribution to
the LBT include:

University of Arizona (25 percent). The innovative telescope mirrors being
used for the LBT were cast and polished at the University�s Steward
Observatory Mirror Laboratory. The Mirror Lab is a pioneer in developing
giant, lightweight mirrors of unparalleled power for the new generation of
optical and infrared telescopes. The Mirror Lab has completed the first LBT
mirror and is currently polishing the second to an accuracy of 30
nanometers, or 3,000 times thinner than a human hair. Steward Observatory
in conjunction with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab is also building the "LBT
Interferometer," an instrument that provides unprecedented imaging
capability at infrared wavelengths and in its "nulling" mode reduces the
glare from stars thereby permitting the detection of orbiting planets or
dust disks, which would otherwise be overwhelmed by the star light. The
University also served as the lead for construction of the one-of-a-kind
structure that houses the telescope. Scientists at Arizona State University
and
Northern Arizona University will also share in the Arizona viewing time on
the LBT.

"Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) (25 percent). INAF is a newly
established Institution collecting all the Italian Observatories and
Astronomical
Research Institutes. A consortium of Italian astronomical observatories, led
initially by the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in Florence, and now by
INAF, has been involved in the project since its inception... " The Italian
partners were responsible for all the detailed design and fabrication of the
major structural elements of the telescope, including the mirror cells that
hold
the telescope�s twin mirrors. The structural parts were fabricated,
pre-assembled
and tested at the Ansaldo-Camozzi steel works in Milan; one of Italy's
long-established steel fabrication companies. The telescope was then
disassembled and shipped by freighter to the U.S. and then transported
overland
to Mount Graham in 2002. The Italian partners also played a key role (along
with Arizona) in developing and building the unique adaptive secondary
mirror systems. They are also providing the twin prime focus cameras, known
as the LBC, the first facility instruments for LBT.

LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft (LBTB) (25 percent). The LBTB is a consortium
of German institutes and observatories led by the Max Planck Institute for
Astronomy in Heidelberg. The LBTB is developing the LUCIFER instrument pair
for near infrared imaging and spectroscopy at the LBT. It will operate in
both "seeing" and diffraction-limited modes, the latter exploiting fully the
capabilities enabled by the adaptive secondary mirrors. As such, LUCIFER is
a key instrument for the LBT and will provide astronomers with extraordinary
observational capability at near infrared wavelengths. The PEPSI instrument,
a high-resolution Echelle spectrograph, is also being developed by the
Astrophysics Institute of Potsdam (AIP) and will allow astronomers to
understand the structure and dynamics of the surface magnetic fields of
solar-type stars. AIP will also deliver two Acquisition, Guiding, and
Wavefront sensing units for the telescope. LBTB has also made contributions
to numerous aspects of the telescope including mirror supports and software.
LBTB, in conjunction with INAF is developing the LINC/NIRVANA instrument
which will provide interferometric imaging capability at visible
wavelengths.

The Ohio State University (OSU) (12.5 percent). OSU has developed and
refined
the technology to deliver a whisper-thin coating of aluminum to be deposited
on the glass surface of the mirrors. The unique bell jar and vacuum system
will allow aluminization to take place while the mirrors are still
positioned on the telescope. OSU also has lead responsibility for the design
and fabrication of the LBT's visible light spectroscopy instrument, the
Multi-Object Double Spectrograph (MODS), a low-to-medium resolution
spectrograph and imager. Two full MODS spectrographs will be built with
support from the University of Arizona, as well as the Ohio Board of Regents
and the National Science Foundation.

Research Corporation (12.5 percent) The Research Corporation was
established in 1912 to promote the advancement of science in the United
States. It
has focused on supporting astronomy, chemistry and physics and has played
key roles in several astronomical projects including Grote Reber's
pioneering work in radio astronomy. By becoming an LBT partner in 1992, the
Research Corporation ensured that adequate funding was available to maintain
project momentum at a critical stage in the development of the LBT. It has
also facilitated the participation of OSU, University of Notre Dame, the
University of Minnesota and the University of Virginia in the project.

The LBT Corp. was established in 1992 to undertake the construction and
operation of the LBT. The LBT Corp. Board of Directors oversees the project.
It has established the LBT Observatory and appointed Director John Hill to
coordinate the construction work and to operate the facility. The
Observatory
currently has a staff of approximately 50 scientists, engineers and
technicians.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The media is invited to tours of the LBT and Arizona
astronomy facilities in advance of the dedication. Please call Matt Smith
at 520-321-1111 for more information.

On 17 Sep 2004 09:00:14 -0700, (Ron) touched
these keys:

LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE TO BE DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 2004



The LBT Corporation announced today that the dedication ceremonies for the
Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) will be held Oct. 15. This scientific
achievement will be marked by a formal dedication dinner for partners and
their guests. The media is invited to attend tours of the LBT and Arizona
astronomy facilities in advance of the dedication.

The $120 million LBT is located on Mount Graham near Safford, Ariz. When
fully operational in 2005, it will be the most technologically advanced
ground-based telescope in the world. The LBT is unlike any other telescope
because it utilizes twin 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) "honeycomb" mirrors that sit
on a single mount. The mirrors are more rigid and lighter weight than
conventional solid-glass mirrors and together will collect more light than
any existing single telescope.


You can vist the LBT website and see it's history of construction in
photos at:


http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/lbtwww/



Jeeze! A spinning furnace??


Mark P.

rockville md na terra solsys orion arm....

Mark P. wrote,
in post :
| On 17 Sep 2004 09:00:14 -0700, (Ron) touched
| these keys:
|
|LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE TO BE DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 2004
|
|
|
|The LBT Corporation announced today that the dedication ceremonies for the
|Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) will be held Oct. 15. This scientific
|achievement will be marked by a formal dedication dinner for partners and
|their guests. The media is invited to attend tours of the LBT and Arizona
|astronomy facilities in advance of the dedication.
|
|The $120 million LBT is located on Mount Graham near Safford, Ariz. When
|fully operational in 2005, it will be the most technologically advanced
|ground-based telescope in the world. The LBT is unlike any other
|telescope because it utilizes twin 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) "honeycomb"
|mirrors that sit on a single mount. The mirrors are more rigid and
|lighter weight than conventional solid-glass mirrors and together will
|collect more light than any existing single telescope.
|
|
| You can vist the LBT website and see it's history of construction in
| photos at:
|
|
| http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/lbtwww/
|


Wow! That's facinating. And I thought MY pair of binocs were large.
I suppose it will give the viewer a 3D view, right? Damn!, I'd like to
study Saturn with that thing! That's the kind of thing I would spend
my money on if I were super wealthy. If only...
Cactus88

"Mark P." wrote in message
...
On 17 Sep 2004 09:00:14 -0700, (Ron) touched
these keys:

LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE TO BE DEDICATED IN OCTOBER 2004

The LBT Corporation announced today that the dedication ceremonies for
the
Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) will be held Oct. 15. This scientific

That was the one that the forest fires were raging perilously close to back
in July...