Roadtrip to Mt Graham and the Large Binocular Telescope....

In 2005 the Steward Mirror Making Lab in Tucson was polishing and testing the second of the twin 8.4 meter (27.5 foot) diameter mirrors for the LBT and I actually got to walk on it.... (see Steward Mirror Making Lab road trip link). Photo Credit: Tom Polakis

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On 8-1-09 I went to see the LBT, and other scopes on Mt. Graham, and was fortunate to be able to step onto the telescope and stand next to that same mirror for a photo-op..... Photo Credit: Jan Douglass

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Standing on the telescope, next to the largest single mirrors, of the largest collecting area telescope on Earth today.... Photo Credit: Jan Douglass

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Yes, I held onto that iPhone tightly....

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Look at the very steep curve on that mirror.... Photo Credit: Jan Douglass

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The left mirror is the second one installed, and the one I stood on in the Mirror Lab....

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Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Radio Telescope and LBT....

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The back of the building as we approached.... It's 16 stories tall.

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Left Mirror..., plus the back gantries that hold diverting mirrors, and the large altitude bearing on which it moves the whole assembly from horizon to zenith.

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LBT, as much as I could fit in one picture....

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The image de-rotator, needed because the scope is Alt-Az was about 10 foot across....

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The bearing assemebly, six are needed, allow the 10 story portion of the upper building to rotate independently of the scope....

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The control room....

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The coating chamber is right there in the building, though it requires a crane and moving the building to get it into place.....

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Other telescopes on the mountain are the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Radio Telescope.....

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Here's as much of the dish as I could fit in.....

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Here's a picture showing it in use; photo credit: Dave Harvey.....

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The focus of the radio telescope.....

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Another scope on the mountain is the Vatican 1.8 meter.....

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Very compact scope.....

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1.8 meter f1 primary mirror was the prototype for much larger, fast f-ratio mirrors at the Steward Mirror Making Lab.....

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The control room is part of the living quarters which have all the comforts of home.....

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