Faulkes Telescope Construction Work

Faulkes Telescope under construction at TTL

The Faulkes Telescope under construction at Telescope Technologies Limited (Merseyside) is a copy of the Liverpool Telescope which will be used by professional astronomers and schools.

The Faulkes Telescope is special because it is the largest telescope in the world solely for educational use. It has been donated to the country by Dr Dill Faulkes to give young people the opportunity to experience the excitement of science and technology at first hand.

The telescope will be sited in Hawaii which means that schools in the UK will be able to use the instrument during lesson time. This is because it is night in Hawaii when it is day in the UK.

Below you can see a sequence of pictures showing the mirror cell being placed in position.

The mirror cell is the structure that directly supports the main mirror.

The mirror is made from glass and is very heavy, weighing over one tonne.

It is most important that the glass is supported in such a way that stresses and strains are not introduced when the telescope moves to different positions.

These could cause the mirror to deform or change shape and if this happens the telescope will not produce good pictures (image data) of the night sky.