idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
Gregor, the largest European solar telescope started test operations last week. After completion in 2010 Gregor will be abler the measure many physical parameters of the sun in before unknown precision. Scientists expect better explanations for solar effects like eruptions or sun spots.
The Gregor Solar Telescope saw sunlight for the first time at 14:55 UT on Thursday, March 12, 2009. This picture shows the image of the Sun on the field stop at the focus of a 1m primary mirror which was installed during the preceding two weeks. This incident marks the beginning of the final phase of integration of the Gregor telescope and its instruments, which is expected to be completed in summer 2010. This is the first time that the entire optical train of the telescope sees sunlight.
The primary mirror is a silicon carbide mirror which was developed as a demonstrator for a 1m solar space telescope. Its purpose is to perform optical alignment tests and to test the main mirror air cooling system, which is critical for the telescope's operation. It will also serve to set up the first generation of post-focus instruments later this year, as well as the adaptive optics system which compensates imperfections in the image arising from turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.
Scientific observations will not be made in this test and integration configuration. They require the final 1.5m primary mirror which is currently being fabricated by Zeiss and will be delivered in April 2010. The current 1m mirror has the same focal length as the 1.5m mirror, which is why its integration into the telescope is relatively simple.
Gregor is one of the telescopes at the Teide Observatory of the Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias on Tenerife. It is operated by the Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik on behalf of a consortium of German research institutes, including two institutes of the Leibniz Association - the Kiepenheuer-Institut and the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam.
Contact:
Dr. habil. Hubertus Woehl
Kiepenheuer-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik (KIS)
Schoeneckstr. 6, 79104 Freiburg, GERMANY
Tel.: +49-761-3198-174 (or -3198-0 secretary)
e-mail: hw@kis.uni-freiburg.de
http://www.kis.uni-freiburg.de/~hw
The Leibniz Association
The Leibniz Association is a network of 86 scientifically, legally and economically independent research institutes and scientific service facilities. Leibniz Institutes perform strategic- and thematically-oriented research and offer scientific service of national significance while striving to find scientific solutions for major social challenges.
Leibniz Institutes employ more than 14.200 employees, of which 6.500 are academics, including 2.500 junior scientists. Leibniz Institutes maintain 2.200 major national and 1.300 international scientific co-operations. Each year, around 2.300 foreign scientists join forces with the Leibniz Institutes as temporary workers. One indication of their high competitiveness and excellence is the 230 million Euros allocated to the Leibniz Institutes from third-party funds.
The Institutes have been awarded 26 million Euros from the European Union, 45 million Euros from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) and 59 million Euros from industry co-operations. The total budget of all Leibniz Institutes amounts to more than 1.1 billion Euros.
Leibniz Institutes contribute to clusters of excellence in fields such as Mathematics, Optic Technologies, Materials Research, Medicine, Climate and Environmental Research, Bio- and Nanotechnology as well as humanities, economics and social sciences. They foster close co-operations with universities, industry, and other research institutes, both in Germany and abroad. The Leibniz Association has developed a comprehensive system of quality management. At regular intervals, independent experts assess every institute as part of their unique peer review evaluation process.
http://www.leibniz-association.eu
http://www.kis.uni-freiburg.de/index.php?id=163&L=1
The top part of the Gregor telescope with the wedge-shaped primary focus field stop to the left and ...
Photo: Kiepenheuer-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik
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Physik / Astronomie
überregional
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