The 20/20 Telescope - a new concept for the GSMT

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Angel, Roger AST-0138347 An innovative approach to creating a Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope (GSMT) that meets the requirements of the decade report will be investigated. The engineering and scientific issues for the coherent combination of two telescopes and the technically challenging multiple conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) will be examined in detail. Replacing a single 30-meter telescope by coherently combining light from two 20-meter telescopes may be a less expensive, more reliable approach to the realization of the GSMT. Much of the science to be accomplished by the next generation ground-based telescopes relies on a working MCAO. MCAO has not yet been demonstrated. This effort will advance the state of the art in MCAO significantly by providing a critical test of the dynamic refocus at an actual astronomical telescope: The MMT near Tucson Arizona. ***