Large Binocular Telescope
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| Large Binocular Telescope | |
View of LBT. Taken in November 2006
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| Organization | large consortium |
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| Location | Mount Graham International Observatory, Arizona, USA |
| Coordinates | 32°42′05.4″N 109°53′22.6″W / 32.7015°N 109.889611°WCoordinates: 32°42′05.4″N 109°53′22.6″W / 32.7015°N 109.889611°W |
| Altitude | 10,000–10,500 ft |
| Wavelength | optical, infrared |
| First light | First light (1st primary mirror individually) 12 October 2005. Second light (2nd primary mirror individually) September 18, 2006. First Binocular light (both mirrors together) January 11-January 12, 2008[1] |
| Telescope style | binocular |
| Diameter | 8.4 m per mirror |
| Angular resolution | λ/22.8 m |
| Collecting area | 111 m² |
| Focal length | 9.6m (f/1.142) |
| Mounting | elevation/azimuth |
| Dome | co-rotating building, dual parting slits |
| Website | http://www.lbto.org/ |
The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT, originally named the Columbus Project) is located on 10,700-foot Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona and is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory. The LBT is one of the world's highest resolution and most technologically advanced optical telescopes.[2]
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[edit] Project
LBT is a joint project of these members: the Italian astronomical community (represented by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF); the University of Arizona; University of Minnesota,[3] University of Notre Dame,[3] University of Virginia,[3] the LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft in Germany (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Landessternwarte in Heidelberg, Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (AIP), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich and Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn); The Ohio State University; Research Corporation in Tucson.
The telescope design has two 8.4-meter (28 ft) mirrors mounted on a common base, hence the name "binocular".[2] LBT takes advantage of active and adaptive optics, provided by Arcetri Observatory. The collecting area is equivalent to an 11.8 meters (39 ft) circular aperture, greater than any other single telescope. Also, an interferometric mode will be available, with a maximum baseline of 22.8 meters (75 ft) for aperture synthesis imaging observations and a baseline of 15 meters (49 ft) for nulling interferometry.
[edit] Controversy
The choice of location sparked considerable local controversy, both from the San Carlos Apache Tribe, who claimed the mountain is sacred, and from environmentalists who contended that the observatory would cause the demise of an endangered subspecies of the American Red Squirrel, the Mount Graham Red Squirrel. Environmentalists and members of the tribe filed some 40 lawsuits — eight of which ended up before a federal appeals court — but the project ultimately prevailed after an act of the United States Congress.
The telescope and mountain observatory survived two major forest fires in eight years, the more recent in the summer of 2004.
[edit] First light
The telescope was dedicated in October 2004 and saw first light with a single primary mirror on October 12, 2005 which viewed NGC 891.[4][5] The second primary mirror was installed in January 2006 and became operational in binocular mode in January 2008.[2][6]
The first binocular light images show three false-color renditions of the spiral galaxy NGC 2770. The galaxy is 88 million light years from our Milky Way, a relatively close neighbor. The galaxy has a flat disk of stars and glowing gas tipped slightly toward our line of sight.
The first image taken combines ultraviolet and green light and emphasizes the clumpy regions of newly formed hot stars in the spiral arms. The second image combines two deep red colors to highlight the smoother distribution of older, cooler stars. The third image (right) is a composite of ultraviolet, green and deep red light and shows the detailed structure of hot, moderate and cool stars in the galaxy. The cameras and images were produced by the Large Binocular Camera team, led by Emanuele Giallongo at the Rome Astrophysical Observatory.
In binocular aperture synthesis mode LBT will have a light-collecting area of 111 m², equivalent to a single 11.8-meter (39 ft) surface and will combine light to produce the image sharpness equivalent to a single 22.8-metre (75 ft) telescope. It can also take images with one side at 8.4 m aperture, or take two images of the same object but using different instruments on side of the telescope.
[edit] In the media
The telescope has also made appearances on an episode of the Discovery Channel TV show Really Big Things, and the BBC program The Sky At Night. The BBC Radio 4 radio documentary "The New Galileos" covered the LBT and the JWST.[7]
[edit] Discoveries
LBT, with the XMM-Newton was used to discover a galaxy cluster 2XMM J0830, over 7 billion light years away from Earth.[8]
[edit] Additional photos
 The LBT on 26/11/2007 |
 LBT at dusk on 26/11/2007 |
 LBT at dusk on 26/11/2007 after having rotated in azimuth |
 The azimuth track on which the enclosure rotates |
 Altitude track with people for scale |
 One of the LBT's two mirrors |
[edit] Other MGIO facilities
[edit] See also
- List of astronomical interferometers at visible and infrared wavelengths
- List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
- List of largest optical telescopes historically
- Mount Graham International Observatory
- Safford, Arizona
[edit] References
- ^ Large Binocular Telescope Corporation (2008-02-28). "Large Binocular Telescope Achieves First Binocular Light". Press release. http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/lbto/firstbinocularlight_press_release.htm.
- ^ a b c "Giant telescope opens both eyes". news.bbc.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7282385.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- ^ a b c "First science from the Large Binocular Telescope". Nd.edu. 2007-04-13. http://www.nd.edu/~lumen/2007_04/FirstsciencefromtheLargeBinocularTelescope.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ medusa.as.arizona.edu
- ^ spaceref.com
- ^ Site history
- ^ Luck-Bake, Andrew. "The New Galileos" (in English). BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k29vv. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
- ^ "XMM discovers monster galaxy cluster", DR EMILY BALDWIN, ASTRONOMY NOW, August 27, 2008
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Large Binocular Telescope |
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