Telescope construction, part 2 (Discovery Channel Telescope)

The Discovery Channel Telescope, under construction.
Image from Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ.
More info about the DCT from Lowell -->

So, Dan is helping to build a new telescope. And he took us to go see it yesterday.

I love science. I built a website on the history of early cosmology for the American Institute of Physics a while back and so learning about Dan's work has been extremely captivating. But never having been to a telescope before, I had no idea what all that big stuff* was.

*Big stuff: [n] complex big things outside even bigger buildings consisting of large humming shapes, ductwork, wires and gnarled cabling.
Origin: my beloved friend Stephanie, who inquired of our building engineer, "What's all that big stuff??" while pointing to our work's HVAC system. Or basically anything that looks like it belongs in a big laboratory with a hunchback laboring over it.)

So, here's some big stuff for you. (NO, not your genitals -- you'll have to rely on your email for those opportunities. Sorry.)

Telescope BEFORE the dome panels
were added. (June 7, 2009)

And AFTER.
Sunday August 16, 2009 (yesterday).

Doesn't it look like someone's house? You'd almost not know that a big 4-meter diameter telescope will be living here one day.

So, a telescope kinda looks like this inside:

(Cartoon source: Gregory Kogan)

These are pictures inside the dome before the telescope is added.

Steve, taking a picture of the scaffolding and other big stuff.

Dan cranks open a side door.

Dan, explaining an architectural drawing of the interior.

Mirror-coating chamber.

The mirror-coating chamber is in the accessory building, a huge secondary lab where people will work on instrumentation and where the mirror will be coated with aluminum and made shiny.

Right now, the mirror's in Tucson. Eventually some nervously sweating trucker is going to have to carefully load and haul an enormous and very fragile 14 foot convex piece of glass five hours up the interstate to this room, where it will be aluminized and lifted into its rightful place as a telescope reflector.

The neat thing about this telescope is that it will be the largest in the continental U.S. and one of the largest in the world (listed in the Wikipedia in the list of telescopes under construction).


--> See my first blog post of the telescope's construction (June 7, 2009).

AND! For a fantastic write-up of the technical information (with humor), see Steve's blog post and photos about the telescope -->

hike in the Coconino National Forest, Flagstaff (pix)

Even though I had corks stuffed up my nose this weekend, we still managed to get out and about. Here we're exploring the Coconino National Forest. (I know, I know -- wasn't that hot? Blame the sexy image unwillingly seared onto your brain by the delirium brought on from my sinus infection.)

Fire in the distance

A fire had just started. Fire's an ever-present danger in dry Arizona (and Northern Arizona, where I am -- Flagstaff -- is actually much better than the rest of the state).

Dan snaps a photo of the smoke.

Fire also visible at the Grand Canyon.

You can actually see fires at the Grand Canyon in the distance (about 70-80 miles away) -- one at the North Rim and one at the South Rim (separated by about 13 miles).

Lightning strike scars a tree.

The Coconino National Forest in & surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forests in North America. Lightning scarred trees line the landscape. If there's any doubt as to whether lightning strikes or how often, just wander into the mountains and just look around -- trees like this abound. (Watch the forecast AND the sky though! You don't want to see it firsthand!)

Macro shot of a downed tree.

I love the symmetrical lines of wood.

Me photographing pretty yellow flowers.

The fruits of my labor!

Another bud reaches up for the sun.

Flagstaff is lousy with these gorgeous yellow flowers. They're all over the place -- in the woods, on the side of the road, everywhere.

Leaning against a burnt trunk stump, the casualty of another fire.

Dan next to the impressive root system of a downed pine.

And the sun sets.

photos from walk in the woods

Went for a walk in the woods yesterday, here are some pix:

vibrant violet tiger lily.

Dan standing next to purple flowers
(hard to tell but they're the weed-like things poking up to his left).

Close up of those flowers.

A storm cloud (cumulus) builds in the sky.

photos of our temporary apartment

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of our temporary apartment (yeah, now that we have to leave) and surroundings. I may have mentioned how much it's been raining here. Monsoon season isn't until July; people have been saying this weather is unusual. The mountains look beautiful with the forbidding clouds overhead.

View from the porch.

We're staying in a temporary apartment on campus. Here's what it looks like:

Porch

Living room

Kitchen (you can see the porch from here)

Bedroom (there's only one)

Bathroom

View of road coming out of campus

Another view from the apartment

We've escaped the heat!