[ATM] Big honeycombed Zerodur mirror

["mlbrown@everstrive.com" <mlbrown@everstrive.com>]

Sofia's 2.7m honeycombed Zerodur mirror.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041022.html

The candy-dish appearance of this high-tech astronomical mirror is
striking. Made of a special glass ceramic material called Zerodur, it
actually measures 2.7 meters across. The transparent surface has not yet
received a reflective coating, so the weight-reducing internal honeycomb
structure is visible with attractive blue and yellow tints provided by a
protective tarp and background lighting. Recently unveiled, the telescope
mirror is destined to fly on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA). Since water vapor in Earth's troposphere tends to block
infrared light, SOFIA will operate from a modified Boeing 747 jetliner at
altitudes above 40,000 feet. As the largest airborne observatory in the
world, SOFIA will explore a host of cosmic environments including sites of
star birth and death, the formation of distant solar systems, and black
holes in active galaxies. 

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