Re: ATM [Fwd: [ASTRO] Mason Dixon Star Party]

[Joe Castoro <astrojoe@erols.com>]

Hi Mel,

What thickness ratio is recommended ? :<)

Joe Castoro



Mel Bartels wrote:
> 
> from a post on the astro e-mail list:
> 
> > I attended the Mason Dixon Star Party in southeastern Pennsylvania a few
> > weeks ago. While there, I attended a presentation I think many of you
> > would be interested in. The person who gave the presentation was doing
> > research under a grant from NASA. The idea was to develop a lightweight
> > mirror for telescopes. The purpose of doing this was to possibly put a
> > robotic telescope on the moon as cheaply as possible. What his team
> > developed was sheets of carbon fibers saturated with epoxy layed over a
> > glass mold. When they dried, the inside surface was refind to a state of
> > extreme smoothness with lasers. The surface was then coated with the
> > reflective material. The result was a very strong and lightweight
> > mirror. A 6" prototype was passed around at the meeting. This mirror
> > weighed approximately 5 ounces. Larger mirrors are currently in
> > production. The statement was made that in the not too distant future,
> > it would be technically and financially reasonable to expect amateur
> > astronomers to own a 1 meter telescope. I've forgotten the exact weight
> > but I believe the weight of this mirror would be about 25 pounds. Using
> > current laser technology, they say they can produce mirrors machined to
> > a smoothness greater than current professional scopes.