Comunicato Stampa
L’ultimo segmento dello specchio del telescopio più grande del mondo è stato fuso con successo
27 Giugno 2024
L’ELT (Extremely Large Telescope ) dell’Osservatorio Europeo Australe (ESO), in costruzione nel deserto cileno di Atacama, ha fatto un altro passo avanti verso il completamento. L'azienda tedesca SCHOTT ha terminato con successo l'ultimo dei 949 segmenti commissionati per lo specchio primario del telescopio (M1). Con un diametro di oltre 39 metri, M1 sarà di gran lunga lo specchio più grande mai realizzato per un telescopio.
Troppo grande per essere realizzato con un unico pezzo di vetro, M1 sarà composto da 798 segmenti esagonali, ciascuno spesso circa cinque centimetri e largo 1,5 metri, che lavoreranno insieme per raccogliere decine di milioni di volte più luce dell'occhio umano. Sono stati prodotti altri 133 segmenti per facilitare la manutenzione e il rivestimento dei segmenti una volta che il telescopio sarà operativo. L'ESO ha inoltre procurato 18 segmenti di riserva, portando il numero totale a 949.
I pezzi grezzi diM1, pezzi sagomati di materiale che vengono successivamente lucidati per diventare i segmenti dello specchio, sono realizzati in ZERODUR©, un materiale vetroceramico a bassa espansione sviluppato da SCHOTT e ottimizzato per le escursioni termiche estreme del sito dell'ELT nel deserto di Atacama. Questa azienda ha anche prodotto i pezzi grezzi di altri tre specchi di ELT – M2, M3 e M4 – presso i propri stabilimenti a Magonza, in Germania.
"Ciò che l'ESO ha ordinato a SCHOTT è molto più che un semplice ZERODUR©", afferma Marc Cayrel, responsabile dell'ELT Optomechanics dell'ESO. “In stretta collaborazione con l’ESO, SCHOTT ha messo a punto ogni singola fase della produzione, personalizzando il prodotto per soddisfare e spesso superare i requisiti molto esigenti dell’ELT. L'eccezionale qualità dei grezzi è stata mantenuta durante tutta la produzione in serie di oltre 230 tonnellate di questo materiale super performante. L’ESO è quindi molto grato alla professionalità dei team qualificati di SCHOTT, il nostro partner di fiducia.”
Contatti
Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel.: +49 89 3200 6670
Cell.: +49 151 241 664 00
E-mail: press@eso.org
Elisabeth Harvey
Marketing & Communications – SCHOTT AG
Mainz, Germany
E-mail: elisabeth.harvey@schott.com
Joerg Gasser (press contact Svizzera)
Rete di divulgazione scientifica dell'ESO
E-mail: eson-switzerland@eso.org
Sul Comunicato Stampa
Comunicato Stampa N": | eso2410it-ch |
Nome: | Extremely Large Telescope |
Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology |
Facility: | Extremely Large Telescope |
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