1/2 I still struggle getting used to the fact that the smallest mirrors of the Extremely Large Telescope are similar in size to the primary mirrors of many current telescopes!
The M5 – the fifth mirror in the optical path – has reached a key milestone: its blank, the piece that will be later polished, has been finalised.
2/2 This flat elliptical mirror measures 2.7 by 2.2 metres. It's the largest tip-tilt mirror in the world: it will move without bending about 10 times per second.
It will work together with the M4, a very fast deformable mirror, to correct perturbations caused by the telescope mechanisms, the wind and atmospheric turbulence.
@tehstu Likewise! I really like chatting with the engineers here when I have the chance. Sometimes I feel that the engineering problems they have to solve are more bonkers than the astrophysical problems we want to solve with the things they build 😅
Started boiling some Weißwurst without realising I'm all out of sweet mustard, and stores are closed today. Should I...
(a) Go out and buy mustard in a gas station.
(b) Use sriracha, the only other sauce I happen to have at home right now, and risk being deported from Germany.
'Scavengers Reign' is one of the best #SciFi#tv shows I've ever seen. HBO –oops, sorry, 'Max'– killing it is so dumb. I don't trust #Netflix much more in this sense, but if the show can have a second life there then so be it. While season 1 was pretty self-contained, I really want to keep exploring this fascinating world.
@juandesant Recent NOAA forecasts show emissions all the way down to Seattle. I don't think you'll be lucky in Santiago, but there should be a nice display in Antarctica.