an astrophysical research site...
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November 2007 Home of the
Two-Shooter,
With both 8.4 meter primary mirrors in place the Large Binocular Telescope is nearing completion. Instrumentation, such as spectrographs, polarimeters, red and blue sensitive cameras and optics to combined the image from the two primary mirrors are being constructed and installed.
December 2006 Light Off the
Replacement Microwave!
After an extended permitting process, the replacement microwave system was brought on line at the end of November 2006. The MGIO site now enjoys increased bandwidth, safety and reliability in the telecommunications processes. Check out the deep blue sky! Astronomically speaking -- it is absolutely terrific...
August 10, 2006 Summer 2006 Comes to a Close
MGIO hires 12 high school students to assist observatory maintenance crews in the summer. It is a great benefit to the observatory as well as the students.
Each week there is an educational session to acquaint the students with the broad spectrum of activities at the observatory. In this instance, the students are observing the sun using a specially filtered, 3.5" Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. Other activities this past summer include sessions on law enforcement with the University of Arizona Police Department, endangered species biology, various engineering careers in the astronomy community, and the science of astronomy. We very much appreciate the summer crew - they are a great help with keeping the observatory operating efficiently.
July, 2006 Aluminizing the LBT Mirror
Wow! A fresh coating of aluminum vacuum deposited on the glass mirror substrate -- the aluminum is about 900 Angstroms thick (a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair). Imagine that! Initially, the reflectivity is about 91% of the incoming light. Ready to collect and focus the light from the universe into a scientific instrument -- Exploring the Universe!
October 12, 2005 First LBT Mirror Achieves First Light... finally!
The exceptional image of a spiral galaxy on edge (NGC891) was obtained with one of the telescope’s two primary mirrors in place. The LBT, a marvel of modern technology, uses two massive 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) diameter primary mirrors mounted side-by-side to produce a collecting area equivalent to an 11.8-meter (39 foot) circular aperture. Furthermore, the interferometric combination of the light paths of the two primary mirrors will provide a resolution of a 22.8-meter telescope The "first light" target was an edge-on spiral galaxy (type Sb) in the constellation of Andromeda known as NGC891. This galaxy lies at a distance of 24 million light years. NGC891 is of particular interest because the galaxy-wide burst of star formation inferred from X-ray emission is stirring up the gas and dust in its disk, resulting in filaments of obscuring dust extending vertically for hundreds of light-years. The images were captured through a state-of-the-art camera known as the Large Binocular Camera (LBC), which is mounted high above the primary mirror at the telescope’s prime focus. Designed by the Italian partners in the project, the LBC acts like a superb digital camera. Its large array of CCD detectors is fed by a sophisticated six-lens optical system. Scientists can obtain very deep images over a large field of view, which is important since the processes of star formation and faint galaxy evolution can be observed with unmatched efficiency. September 2005 The Second Primary Mirror arrives at the LBT...
The second and last 8.4 meter diameter primary mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope arrives at the site. After a journey of 2 1/2 days at a speed of 1 to 2 miles per hour the mirror arrives at the observatory.
Telescope completion scheduled for spring 2006!
Let's get some science underway...
July 2004 Mt. Graham Burns... The Nuttall Fire Complex burns almost 30,000 acres in the Pinaleņo Mountains over a period of 3 weeks. The fire was stifled in its tracks as it approached MGIO.
Resources used during the fire:
Photos courtesy of Sgt. Ron Smallwood, UA Police Department
November 2003 Heart of Telescope Arrives on Mountain -- By Lori Stiles The world’s most powerful optical telescope, which will allow astronomers to
see planets around nearby stars in our galaxy, took a giant step closer to
completion late last week when the first of its huge 27-foot-diameter mirrors
inched up a tortuous mountain road to its new home at Arizona’s Mount Graham
International Observatory.
Wildfire Season -- A Tree Trimming Exercise --
Due to the extended drought and ongoing insect infestation in the spruce fir forest surrounding the observatory, virtually 85% of the trees in the highest elevations in the Pinaleņo Mountains have died. Because the dead trees present hazards to people and equipment near the observatory perimeter, those trees are being removed as authorized by the USFS. It is a hard but necessary job hiking 50 pound sections of trees out of the forest to haul down the mountain. We appreciate our summer labor crew from the town of Bylas and from Graham County, who without their help this would not have been possible. A hearty THANKS to our high school summer crew!
February 26, 2003 Sunrise on Mt. Graham -- An inspiring event always, but on this morning it is extra
special...
These photos remind me of Albert Einstein's quote:
October 2002 UVa and UM join the LBT
Project! On October 4, 2002, The University of Virginia announced that it has joined the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) project, a major new telescope being constructed in Arizona. It will be the most powerful in the world when completed in 2005. And on October 11, 2002, The University of Minnesota Board of Regents voted to join the research interests on Mt. Graham. The international partnership of universities and research institutes in the LBT Research Consortium includes the University of Arizona, which leads the consortium; Ohio State University; the University of Notre Dame; and the Research Corp., plus partners in Italy and Germany. Parts and Pieces --
The LBT Telescope structure was designed and built in Italy, shipped ocean freight to Houston, Texas and trucked overland to the MGIO Base Camp. The logistics are considerable -- just think about moving a 60 ton, 28 foot wide load across the country. And this load (in the photo) is only 24 feet wide -- just one of the many truck loads of parts and pieces... Yes, it is wider than the road -- that's both lanes of traffic!
December 2001
Power Line completed...
After a lengthy design period (4 years) and a relatively brief construction period (8 months), the commercial power line to the Observatory was turned on for the first time on November 13, 2001. The on-site diesel generators were turned off on December 7, 2001. We have commercial power!
August 2001 The Summer Monsoon has been good!
We have a large number of wildflowers popping up all over the mountain.
While the rain was extensive at times and made construction difficult, the
moisture was welcome. Power Line Progresses...
The construction of the 23 mile long, underground, 25 kV power line is progressing well. The very difficult portion -- through the steep corridor areas -- have been completed.
April, 2001 |
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This
milestone marks the dawn of a new era in observing the Universe. Upon
completion (fall 2006) the LBT will peer deeper into space than ever before, and
with ten times the clarity of the Hubble Space Telescope. With unparalleled
observational capability, astronomers will be able to view planets in distant
solar systems, and detect and measure objects dating back to the beginning of
time (14 billion years ago). 
The
second major wildfire in 8 years burned within 1/2 mile of the Observatory
Complex. Firefighters from the Southwest Area Incident Management Team worked
diligently to protect the facility using an indirect fire fighting approach --
using fire to stop fire. Their back burn operation is shown silhouetting the
Large Binocular Telescope on the evening of July 6, 2004. The back burn
was ignited within 200 feet of the Utility Building on the north side of the
site and within 600 feet of the Large Binocular Telescope on the east side of
the site (photo below).
Construction of Mt. Graham Power Line Underway...
In November, 2000, the Cozad
heavy equipment trailer was used to move the Drott 30 ton hydraulic crane to the MGIO
site. Relocating the diesel fuel tank provided room for the installation of a large
chiller unit. "Taking the heat" out of the Large Binocular Telescope
enclosure will help insure better local "seeing" conditions for the telescope
once it is installed inside the enclosure. 