Issues in scaling the ELT up to 100 m

Frank B. Ray; Frank N. Bash; Lawrence W. Ramsey; Thomas A. Sebring

doi:10.1117/12.393936

2 August 2000 Issues in scaling the ELT up to 100 m

Frank B. Ray, Frank N. Bash, Lawrence W. Ramsey, Thomas A. Sebring

Proceedings Volume 4004, Telescope Structures, Enclosures, Controls, Assembly/Integration/Validation, and Commissioning; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.393936
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2000, Munich, Germany

Abstract

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) has been examined as a prototype for an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) with a 33- meter diameter primary mirror. In this paper we examine the feasibility of scaling the HET/ELT up to 100-meters in diameter. In this 100-meter telescope design (called ELTX) the advantages of the tilted Arecibo concept seem to emerge even more strongly. For example the whole primary mirror is below grade and extremely well shielded from wind shake and the Stewart platform which carries the spherical aberration corrector and the instruments is capable of being scaled up to this massive size without any serious problems. Such a design is on track for probable science missions in the next half century.

Citation Download Citation

Frank B. Ray, Frank N. Bash, Lawrence W. Ramsey, and Thomas A. Sebring "Issues in scaling the ELT up to 100 m", Proc. SPIE 4004, Telescope Structures, Enclosures, Controls, Assembly/Integration/Validation, and Commissioning, (2 August 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.393936

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available