Oct. 8, 2003

Contact: Bruce Twarog, Physics and Astronomy, (785) 864-5163.

KU to lead research into developing lightweight 'telescopes of the future'

LAWRENCE -- Researchers at the University of Kansas may find a better way for stargazers to look into outer space thanks to a $1.4 million National Science Foundation-funded project to develop lighter-weight materials to use in the construction of telescopes.

If successful, the new technology that is developed may alter the way all future ground- and space-based telescopes are constructed by permitting larger telescopes to be built at less cost.

"Telescopes are basically mirrors that serve as buckets that collect light," said Bruce Twarog, KU professor of physics and astronomy and the lead investigator on the project. "Larger 'buckets' collect more light. However, larger mirrors are correspondingly heavier, harder to maneuver and more expensive to design and use."

The three-year project, dubbed ULTRA, for Ultra Lightweight Telescope for Research in Astronomy, will combine the resources of KU and its three research partners -- San Diego State University, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and Composite Mirror Applications Inc. (CMA) of Tucson, Ariz. Of the $1.4 million grant, KU will receive $720,000 and CMA will receive $650,000. The partners will contribute a combined $280,000 in matching funds.

Robert Romeo and Peter Chen of CMA developed the lightweight composite technology that will be used in the project. CMA's technology can be used to produce telescopes that weigh one-tenth as much as a comparable glass-mirrored telescope.

Working in conjunction with KU aerospace engineering professors Richard Hale and Ray Taghavi, CMA will build and test various designs for the telescope, including computer modeling of the responses of a full-scale telescope made with CMA's composite material. The design will be further tested by Robert Fesen of Dartmouth using the MDM observatory facilities near Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson.

After the computer simulations, a telescope with a mirror 1 meter in diameter will be constructed at Mount Laguna Observatory at San Diego State University under the direction of Professor Paul Etzel. It will be designed for remote access over the Internet and robotic operation, and it will be used in a continuous research mode for approximately one year to demonstrate its effectiveness in comparison with traditional glass mirrors of the same size.

Using CMA's process facilitates production and lowers the construction cost of telescopes. If this project is successful, the new lightweight technology could quickly supplant glass and steel structures in most large, next-generation telescopes.