Telescope drawing. Photo: NOAO

The 7,000 pound, 10-cm thick piece of glass destined to become the SOAR Telescope's primary mirror has safely traveled from the Canton, NY plant of Corning, Inc. to Raytheon, Inc. in Danbury, CT. The glass will spend the next year being polished. Aluminization will take place in 2002 on-site when SOAR joins its neighbor, Gemini South, atop Cerro Pachon, in Chile.

Initiated by the University of North Carolina (UNC-CH) at Chapel Hill in 1990, the SOAR Telescope Project is now a collaboration between UNC-CH, the country of Brazil, Michigan State University, and the National Optical Astronomy (NOAO). Funded at a level of $28 million, the objectives are to design, construct, and commission a 4-meter optical/IR telescope at Cerro Pachon in Chile. The telescope is to be operated by the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory (CTIO). U.S. astronomers will receive 30% of the observing time through NOAO in exchange for this support. Instruments will be provided by partner institutions.

SOAR will employ a Ritchey-Chretien optical design, optimized to meet extremely challenging specifications. Low-scatter optics and careful attention to baffling, coatings, and other aspects of system design will minimize stray light. With the integration of tip/tilt image stabilization, image resolution comparable to larger telescopes can be achieved at a much lower cost.

The SOAR primary mirror is composed of a single, 4-inch thick face sheet of Corning's proprietary Ultra Low Expansion Titanium Silicate Code 7971.

NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.