Re: [ATM] marking the center of a circle

["Jerry" <wa4guu@verizon.net>]

NEWS FLASH!

Paranoia sweeps the atronomical community as parabolas are found to be off
center!

In a situation reminiscent of Hubble mirror fiasco, astronomers around the
globe are finding that optical mirrors previously thought to be perfect in
fact have been manufactured off center, says Dr. E. Sin Trek, principal
researcher at Harvard's School of History of Instruments and Telescopes. 

Dr. Trick and collaborator Ben Tau Shape believe the cause may be similar to
the cause of the miss-shaped Hubble, a slightly misplaced piece of test
apparatus. "It seem most likely that Couder masks may have been laterally
displace from their proper positions in the testing and shaping process for
many of the worlds telescope mirrors" said Dr. Trick.

"Further study will be needed" said Shape, formerly with optical giant
Perkin Elmer, "We just don't yet know how these masks could have been
positioned so inaccurately, or how best to correct all of the world's
telescope mirrors.

One astronomer predicted a revival of large refracting telescopes if the
source of the problem of off center parabolas on the mirrors is not found
and corrected. Astronomers around the world are left in a quandary as to
just where the true center of their mirrors really is.

 


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