DATE: February 5, 2016

Gathering Light from Darkness

Gift impacts UA’s quest to answer humanity’s biggest questions.

Under 24-hour monitoring, a glass ring that will become the core of the world’s most powerful telescope is cooling gradually and precisely in the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab on the UA campus. This center mirror is the fourth Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) primary mirror to be cast at the lab, recently renamed in honor of Caris’ $20 million contribution supporting continued partnership in the GMT consortium.

GMT will use 100 times the lightgathering power of the Hubble Space Telescope to direct images of the universe’s farthest reaches from the seven primary mirrors to secondary mirrors, also under construction at UA. The smaller mirrors will correct distortions and send the images to cameras and other instruments housed within the center mirror.

Deeper, sharper views into space will improve understanding of what the universe contains. Everything humans have touched or seen accounts for only 5 percent of the cosmos. All else is unknown, a combination of dark matter and dark energy.

“We’re 95 percent ignorant about what the universe is. We’d like to know,” said Dennis Zaritsky, astronomy professor and Steward Observatory deputy director.

Finding out requires breakthrough equipment, and GMT’s mirrors are the most challenging optics ever produced. The UA’s lab is the only facility with the capability to manufacture them from start to finish, according to Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab Director Roger Angel, who developed the technology to reduce the mirrors’ weight and shape their curves to a millionth of an inch accuracy.

As ground breaks in Chile for GMT’s housing, Angel and many additional UA astronomy and optical sciences faculty and students are actively involved with building the mirrors and planning how to use GMT when it’s completed in 2024.

“These students are learning to do what’s never been done before. They’re gaining the confidence to keep doing amazing things,” said Buell Jannuzi, head of the astronomy department and director of the Steward Observatory.

About the UA Foundation
The University of Arizona Foundation is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advancing the University of Arizona and managing Arizona NOW, the University’s comprehensive $1.5 billion fundraising campaign. Stewarding an existing asset base of more than $850 million, the UA Foundation has helped generate nearly $3 billion in private funding to support the University. Learn more about the UA Foundation at uafoundation.org or arizonanow.org.