Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Aug 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005jrasc..99r.134b&link_type=abstract
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 99, No. 4, p.134
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
A study has been made of the feasibility and scientific potential of a 20-to 100-m aperture astronomical telescope at the lunar pole, with its primary mirror made of spinning liquid at < 100 K. Such a telescope, equipped with imaging and multiplexed spectroscopic instruments for a deep-infrared survey, would be revolutionary in its power to study the distant Universe, including the formation of the first stars and their assembly into galaxies. Our study explored the scientific opportunities, key technologies, and optimum location of such a Lunar Liquid Mirror Telescope (LLMT). An optical design for a 20- m telescope with diffraction limited imaging over a 15-arcminute field has been developed. It would be used to follow up on discoveries made with the 6-m James Webb Space Telescope, with more detailed images and spectroscopic studies, as well as to detect objects 100 times fainter, such as the first high-redshift star in the early Universe. Amodel was made of a liquid mirror spinning on a superconducting bearing, as will be needed for the cryogenic, vacuum environment of the LLMT. Reflective silver coatings have been deposited for the first time on a liquid surface, needed to make infrared mirrors at ~80 K. Issues relating to polar locations have been explored. Dust on the optics or in a thin atmosphere, though unlikely to be problematic at the poles, should be investigated in-situ. Issues relating to polar locations have been explored. Locations at or within a few km of a pole are preferred for deep-sky cover, and allow for long integration times by simple instrument rotation. This revolutionary mission concept could provide a scientific focus to NASA's planned exploration of the Moon, just as currently HST stands as a major achievement of its Shuttle Program.
Angel James Roger P.
Borra Ermanno F.
Eisenstein Daniel
Hickson Paul
Ma Kai
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