Looking more like a telescope

The Liverpool Telescope is now looking more like a telescope as the days go by.

In this image you can see the a close up of the trusess before the top-end ring is assembled.

The trusses and top-end ring are now being assembled. This structure hold the secondary mirror, an important optical part for the telescope.

It is designed to reflect the light gathered by the main mirror back towards the base of the telescope, through a hole in the primary (light gathering) mirror and on to the electronic camera where the pictures (image data) are captured.

The trusses are designed to hold the secondary mirror rigid. It is important that both the primary and secondary mirrors are always kept exactly in-line, no matter where the telescope is pointing in the night sky.

In the image above you can see the trusses that will support the secondary mirror

This is no mean feat, with the the primary mirror weighing in excess of one tonne, it is a difficult task to achieve this alignment with the telescope designed to move to all points in the night sky.

The materials that the various parts of the telescope are made must be carefully chosen; while the shape and positioning of parts, such as the trusses, must be carefully thought about so that everything works as it should when the telescope is operated.