MoreCorning Inc. will manufacture the secondary mirror substrate for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), an 8.4-m ground-based facility that is expected to see first light from Cerro Pachón, Chile, in 2014. The LSST will produce a panoramic digital movie as it surveys the entire visible sky every week with its 3200-mega-pixel camera.
The LSST secondary mirror will be manufactured in Corning’s Canton, N.Y., facility and made from Corning ULE®, a specialty glass known for its low thermal expansion properties. The process to manufacture the 3.47-m, 100-mm-thick ULE blank is fairly extensive. Material selection and preparation for seal operations began in September 2008, and Corning is on schedule to complete the mirror in late 2009.
“Corning has a rich history of supplying monolithic glass blanks for large telescopes that dates back to the 200-in. disk for the Hale telescope at the Mount Palomar Observatory in 1934,” said Andy Filson, director of advanced optics, Corning Specialty Materials. “We are proud to continue our advancements in this area by being a part of the LSST project.”
Corning has utilized its manufacturing expertise for several large telescopes in the past, including the 8-m primary mirrors for the Gemini and Subaru telescope projects, as well as the 4-m primary mirrors for the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) and Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) projects.
The new LSST system will combine a wide field of view, rapid scans of the sky, and deep-imaging capability to map billions of objects and monitor changes in brightness and position. Scientists, as well as casual observers with access to the Internet, can actively participate in LSST’s mission of mapping the structure of all matter in our universe.
Visit www.corning.com or www.lsst.org for additional information.
The LSST secondary mirror will be manufactured in Corning’s Canton, N.Y., facility and made from Corning ULE®, a specialty glass known for its low thermal expansion properties. The process to manufacture the 3.47-m, 100-mm-thick ULE blank is fairly extensive. Material selection and preparation for seal operations began in September 2008, and Corning is on schedule to complete the mirror in late 2009.
“Corning has a rich history of supplying monolithic glass blanks for large telescopes that dates back to the 200-in. disk for the Hale telescope at the Mount Palomar Observatory in 1934,” said Andy Filson, director of advanced optics, Corning Specialty Materials. “We are proud to continue our advancements in this area by being a part of the LSST project.”
Corning has utilized its manufacturing expertise for several large telescopes in the past, including the 8-m primary mirrors for the Gemini and Subaru telescope projects, as well as the 4-m primary mirrors for the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) and Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) projects.
The new LSST system will combine a wide field of view, rapid scans of the sky, and deep-imaging capability to map billions of objects and monitor changes in brightness and position. Scientists, as well as casual observers with access to the Internet, can actively participate in LSST’s mission of mapping the structure of all matter in our universe.
Visit www.corning.com or www.lsst.org for additional information.
With access to over one million professionals and more than 60 industry-specific publications,
