Liquid Mirror Telescopes: A progress report
Abstract
We review the present status of liquid mirror telescopes. Interferometric tests of liquid mirrors (the largest one having a diameter of 2.5 meters ) show excellent optical qualities. The basic technology is now sufficiently reliable that it can be put to work. Indeed, a handful of liquid mirrors have now been built that are used for scientific work. A 3.7-m diameter LMT is presently being built in the new Laval upgraded testing facilities. Construction of the mirror can be followed on the Web site: http://astrosun.phy.ulaval.ca/lmt/lmt- home.html. Finally we address the issue of the field accessible to LMTs equipped with novel optical correctors. Optical design work, and some exploratory laboratory work, indicate that a single LMT should be able to access, with excellent images, small regions anywhere inside fields as large as 45 degrees.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9608154,
title = {Liquid Mirror Telescopes: A progress report},
author = {Ermanno F. Borra and Marc Ferrari and Luc Girard and Gilberto Moretto and Gregoire Tremblay and Gerard Lemaitre},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9608154},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
To appear in the SPIE conference proceedings 'Optical Telescopes of Today and Tomorrow', May 29 - June1, Landskrona/Hven, Sweden, Additional info on LMs at: http://astrosun.phy.ulaval.ca/lmt/lmt-home.html