Mitteilung
Der M5-Spiegelrohling des ELT ist fertiggestellt
15. Mai 2024
Der fünfte Spiegel im Strahlengang des Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) der ESO, der M5, hat einen wichtigen Meilenstein erreicht: Sein Rohling, das also das in Form gebrachte Spiegelmaterial, das später poliert wird, wurde nun fertiggestellt. Das ELT wird mit insgesamt fünf Spiegeln ausgestattet sein und M5 ist der kleinste von ihnen, aber die Herstellung des Rohlings war keine Kleinigkeit. Das französische Unternehmen Mersen Boostec hat dieses bemerkenswerte Werkstück in seinen Anlagen in der Nähe von Tarbes im Südwesten Frankreichs hergestellt.
M5 ist ein flacher, elliptischer Spiegel von 2,7 mal 2,2 Metern, der aus sechs zusammengelöteten Segmenten besteht. Im Vergleich zum riesigen 39-Meter-Hauptspiegel des ELT mag das nicht viel erscheinen, aber in Wirklichkeit ist es der größte kipp- und neigbare Spiegel der Welt.
Zusammen mitdem vierten Spiegel M4 ist M5 eine entscheidende Komponente des adaptiven Optiksystems des ELT: Ihr einzigartiges Zusammenspiel wird es dem ELT ermöglichen, extrem scharfe Bilder aufzunehmen und dabei Störungen zu kompensieren, die durch die Teleskopmechanismen, Windvibrationen und atmosphärische Turbulenzen verursacht werden. Um die Bilder zu stabilisieren, wird M5 seine Position 10 Mal pro Sekunde anpassen, ohne sich zu verbiegen.
Um diese Herausforderung zu meistern, musste Mersen Boostec den M5-Rohling aus einem ganz besonderen Material fertigen: Siliziumkarbid, das gleichzeitig sehr steif und sehr leicht ist. Darauf wurde eine dünne Schicht aus Siliziumkarbid Atom für Atom abgeschieden, um sicherzustellen, dass die Oberfläche des Rohlings mit einer Genauigkeit von weniger als einem Hundertstel der Dicke eines menschlichen Haares poliert werden kann.
Das französische Unternehmen Safran Reosc, das den Rohling nun erhalten hat, wird ihn prüfen und später in seine Halterung einbauen, den montierten Rohling polieren und die für seine Handhabung, seinen Transport, seinen Betrieb und seine Wartung erforderliche Ausrüstung liefern. Das spanische Unternehmen SENER Aeroespacial übernimmt die Planung, den Bau und die Überprüfung der Spiegelzelle (ihres Trägersystems) sowie ihres Kontrollsystems und ihrer Hilfsausrüstung.
Als größtes Teleskop der Welt für das sichtbare Licht macht sich das Extremely Large Telescope der ESO bereit, sich den größten astronomischen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit zu stellen. Bahnbrechende Entdeckungen stehen bevor, sobald es noch in diesem Jahrzehnt in Betrieb genommen wird. Die Konstruktion seiner einzelnen Komponenten, wie z. B. des M5, stößt an die Grenzen der Technik.
Links
Kontaktinformationen
Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
E-Mail: press@eso.org
Über die Mitteilung
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