Espelho finíssimo a ser testado no ESO
Este espelho muito fino deformável foi entregue ao ESO em Garching, Alemanha, e encontra-se a ser testado. Tem 1120 milímetros de diâmetro mas apenas 2 mm de espessura, o que o torna muito mais fino do que a maioria dos espelhos de vidro. O espelho é finíssimo de modo a ser suficientemente flexível para que, quando se lhe aplicam forças electromagnéticas, a sua superfície refletora se altere. Quando instalado no telescópio, a superfície do espelho será constantemente e milimetricamente alterada, corrigindo deste modo os efeitos de distorção causados pela atmosfera terrestre e produzindo assim imagens muito mais nítidas.
O novo espelho secundário deformável (DSM, sigla do inglês para deformable secondary mirror) irá substituir o actual espelho secundário de um dos quatro telescópios que compõem o VLT. A estrutura secundária completa inclui um conjunto de 1170 actuadores que aplicam uma força em 1170 ímans colados na parte de baixo da estrutura fina. Electrónica sofisticada construída de propósito para o efeito controlará o comportamento do espelho. A superfície refletora pode ser deformada por acção dos actuadores até mil vezes por segundo.
O sistema DSM completo foi entregue ao ESO pelas empresas italianas Microgate e ADS em dezembro de 2012, concluindo-se assim oito anos de desenvolvimento sustentado e construção. Este é o maior espelho deformável alguma vez construído para aplicação na astronomia e é o mais recente numa longa linha de tais espelhos. A extensa experiência destas empresas está bem patente no alto desempenho do sistema, assim como na sua fiabilidade. A instalação do sistema no VLT está prevista para 2015.
O espelho (ann12015) propriamente dito foi construído pela empresa francesa REOSC. O espelho consiste numa folha de material cerâmico que foi polido até se obter uma forma muito precisa. O processo de construção começa com um bloco de cerâmica Zerodur, fornecido pela Schott Glass (Alemanha), com mais de 70 milímetros de espessura. A maior parte do material é limado e polido até se chegar a uma fina camada final, que tem que ser cuidadosamente suportada em todos os momentos, uma vez que é extremamente frágil.
Links
- Departamento de Óptica Adaptativa do ESO
- Brochura sobre a infraestrutura de Óptica Adaptativa no ESO (ficheiro pdf)
- Microgate
- ADS
- REOSC
- Schott Glass
ESO
Sobre a imagem
Id: | potw1307a |
Língua: | pt |
Tipo: | Fotográfico |
Data de divulgação: | 18 de Fevereiro de 2013 às 10:00 |
Tamanho: | 5616 x 3744 px |
Sobre o objeto
Tipo: | Unspecified : Technology |
Formatos de imagens
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