Mitteilung

Video Compilation Showing the Recoating of a VLT Mirror

26. Juli 2010

A video compilation of footage showing the recoating of a mirror at ESO’s Very Large Telescope array (VLT) has now been released. The VLT, on Cerro Paranal in Chile, is the flagship facility for European ground-based astronomy. It is the world's most advanced optical telescope, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with main mirrors 8.2 metres in diameter and four movable 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes.

This video compilation shows the different stages of the complex recoating process for one of the VLT’s giant main mirrors. The footage captures the moment when the mirror is brought out of the telescope and transported to a dedicated mirror maintenance plant. Here, the mirror is separated from its supporting cell, cleaned and finally recoated. The compilation features many timelapse sequences of the whole operation.

Links

• Mirror Recoating at the Very Large Telescope Compilation (running time 22:41min)