Large Binocular Telescope, First Spectacular Images
March 8, 2008
The first images captured by the world’s most powerful optical telescope have been released by scientists. The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), which now operates from Mount Graham in Arizona, is able to capture detailed images of space objects millions of light-years away, having 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Located on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona, the $120 million LBT is the first of a new generation of extraordinarily large optical telescopes and it is breaking boundaries in astronomy and related fields. It uses two massive 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) diameter primary mirrors mounted side-by-side to produce the light gathering power equivalent to an 11.8-meter (39 foot) circular aperture. The mirrors which are lighter in weight than conventional solid-glass mirrors, due to their unique “honeycomb” structure, are now working in tandem and will be capable of operating as a single instrument. Ultimately, the interferometric combination of the light paths of the two primary mirrors will provide a resolution of a 22.8-meter (75 foot) telescope. With its capability, the LBT is the largest single telescope in the world.
The first images were taken with the help of the two 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) diameter mirrors and were first released to the public on Thursday, showing a spiral galaxy 102 million light-years away. The images were originally taken on 11 and 12 January, but they haven’t been revealed until recently.
Image credits: LBT Observatory
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