(PLANETQUEST) -- The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham, Ariz., has taken celestial images using its twin side-by-side, 8.4-meter (27.6-foot) primary mirrors together, achieving first "binocular" light.
Last week's milestone was "a baby step" toward using the instrument to discover exoplanets, said Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) project manager Ben Parvin. Parvin's project is a JPL add-on to the telescope that is scheduled to go online in 2012.
These first images from LBT were independently taken by each side of the telescope and combined in a computer. Parvin explained that the LBTI will combine the input from both telescopes in real-time, creating an image that is "higher resolution and realizes the potential of the telescope." Scientists then hope to use the instrument to discover and observe exoplanets and the dust disks around stars that form them.
"We're anxious to get moving, but you have to check to see if the system works before you begin adding things," Parvin said.
The first binocular light images show three false-color renditions of the spiral galaxy NGC 2770. The galaxy is 102 million light years from our Milky Way, a relatively close neighbor. The galaxy has a flat disk of stars and glowing gas tipped slightly toward our line of sight.
The first image combines ultraviolet and green light and emphasizes the clumpy regions of newly formed hot stars in the spiral arms. The second image combines two deep red colors to highlight the smoother distribution of older, cooler stars. The third image is a composite of ultraviolet, green and deep red light and shows the detailed structure of hot, moderate and cool stars in the galaxy. The cameras and images were produced by the Large Binocular Camera team, led by Emanuele Giallongo at the Rome Astrophysical Observatory.
The LBT has a light-collecting area equivalent to a single 11.8-meter (39-foot) surface and will combine light to produce the image sharpness equivalent to a single 22.8-meter (75-foot) telescope. It is located on 10,480-foot Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona.
"To have a fully functioning binocular telescope is not only a time for celebration here at LBT, but also for the entire astronomy community," UA Steward Observatory Director, Regents' Professor and LBT Corp. President Peter A. Strittmatter said. sharper than any other telescope. I think it's the most likely telescope to take the first pictures of planets around other stars because of the unique advanced technologies used to build it."
The LBT is a collaborative effort that includes numerous astronomy and academic institutions.
This article was based on a University of Arizona press release
