Building on a solid foundation
The telescope assembly building has four re-inforced concrete bases to provide extremely stable surfaces on which telescopes can be assembled. The foundations are 15 metres deep and rest on the sandstone rock below.
| This means that any vibration from road traffic or other sources do not cause the telescopes to move in any way. Telescopes have to be assembled carefully and there are many very accurate measurements to be made which could be upset by such vibrations. |
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The first stage in the assembly of the Liverpool Telescope is the positioning of twelve fixators, shown above, which firmly hold the telescope in position on the concrete base. To do this holes are first drilled into the concrete using specialised drilling equipment. The pictures below show the process.
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A central steel rod runs through the fixator unit into the hole. A small wooden enclosure is placed around the fixator unit and cement poured in. The pictures below shows the fixators in position with the cement setting.
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Once the cement is set the next stage is to place what is called the azimuth ring onto the fixators and carefully adjust levels.
We will show you the azimuth ring and the levelling process in our next news bulletin.
