![]() This “spin cast” process gives the mirror surface its special parabolic shape. It takes another 1.5 months to cool to room temperature. The mirror then enters a one month annealing process where the glass is cooled while the furnace spins at a slower rate in order to remove internal stresses and toughen the glass. The peak temperature event is called “high fire,” and will occur tomorrow, March 6. At the peak of the melting process, the furnace spins at five revolutions per minute, heating the glass to 1,165 degrees Celsius (2,129 F) for approximately five hours until it liquefies into the mold. The process of casting the giant mirror involves melting nearly 20 tons (38,490 pounds) of specialized glass into the world’s only spinning furnace designed to cast giant mirrors for telescopes. “This mirror casting brings the faculty, students, and researchers of The University of Texas at Austin one step closer to having access to the unique scientific tool that is the Giant Magellan Telescope,” said Taft Armandroff, Director of the university’s McDonald Observatory and Vice Chair of the GMT Organization’s Board of Directors. Caris Mirror Lab and will take nearly four years to complete. The sixth 8.4-meter (27.5 feet) mirror - about two stories high when standing on edge - is being fabricated at The University of Arizona’s Richard F. ![]() These mirrors will allow astronomers to see farther into the universe with more detail than any other optical telescope before. The 8.4-meter mirror joins five of the world’s largest mirrors previously cast for the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the world’s largest and most anticipated extremely large telescopes.ĪUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas at Austin and other partners of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) announce the fabrication of the sixth of seven of the world’s largest monolithic mirrors.
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