![]() Those smaller mirrors correct the natural messiness of Earth’s atmospheric turbulence, cleaning up the light before beaming it back through a hole in the centermost primary mirror. Light drops fall upon the Giant Magellan Telescope as it scans the sky in 360 degree revolutions all night, bouncing off its primary mirrors to hit a group of secondary mirrors above the main body. To see really faint cosmic objects, you’d need a much bigger bucket. How Does the Giant Magellan Telescope Work?Īny telescope is like a light bucket, and Bernstein explains, “Light falls like raindrops.” ![]() ![]() That’s what collecting more light does for you.”Īfter that, there’s no spot too dark or distant to see. “You want to turn on the lights to be able to see more. “You have a blackout, and you’re trying to get around your house with one candle – you’re never even gonna find your keys,” she says. Bernstein compares the impact to flipping on the lights. Scientists expect the incoming data and newfound visual clarity will revolutionize how we understand the very fabric of our universe. Atop the Atacama Desert, the telescope will peer into the cosmos in optical and near infrared light. “The more light and the sharper an image we get, it translates directly into information,” says Rebecca Bernstein, chief scientist for the Giant Magellan Telescope. Why it’s so giant is simple: to gather far more light. All seven create an array 25.4 meters wide, or over 80 feet. Just how big will it go? One mirror alone, 8.4 meters across, fits the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror – with room to spare. “20 years ago, basically people started going, ‘Okay, to really make the next leap in astronomy, we need bigger telescopes,’” Mulchaey says. The Giant Magellan Telescope sprang from an idea in the early 2000s, that science needed to go even bigger, according to John Mulchaey, director of the Carnegie Observatories – including the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, the telescope’s future home.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |