OSU process to finish giant telescope mirror tested

Ohio State University scientists will test their system for placing a thin layer of aluminum on a giant mirror that is part of the university’s contribution to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), located on Mount Graham, Arizona.

After traveling by ship from Italy where they were made, the eight-meter telescope mirrors have arrived at an airplane hangar at Rickenbacker Airport. A team of scientists from Ohio State’s Imaging Sciences Laboratory is hoping to work out the kinks in the coating process before the mirror travels to Arizona. Ohio State’s Department of Astronomy has built a railroad track in the hangar to maneuver the giant equipment, and after two months of preparation, the giant object has been moved into position and is ready for testing.

The test, which involves maneuvering an 80-ton bell jar and vacuum system into place over a ‘dummy’ mirror cell, will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday (11/26) at Rickenbacker Airport, 7400 Alum Creek Drive. Media are invited to see these giant pieces as they are tested in preparation for the aluminization that will take place next spring. The real glass mirrors (8.4 meters in diameter) will be aluminized on Mount Graham after the system has been perfected here in Columbus.

WHAT:Bell jar aluminizing system in place at Rickenbacker Airport

WHEN: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Rickenbacker Airport (7400 Alum Creek Dr., Columbus, OH)

WHY: Giant project is a large and crucial contribution from Ohio State to the LBT.

Directions to Rickenbacker Airport: From Port Columbus International Airport, take I-270 to the Alum Creek Dr. exit and head south for approximately 4 miles. Turn right onto Port Rd., left onto Second St., and then left onto Reserve Rd. Take Reserve Road to Hangar 594, which is the last building on the left.