Mount Cuba
Astronomical Observatory
Upcoming Programs
(Click on the events tab to make reservations)
Children's Program 7PM September 14, 2024 "Surfaces of the Solar Systems"
Family Night 8PM September 20, 2024
Public Night 8PM September 23, 2024 " Magnetic Stars vs. Kitchen Magnets"
Family Night 8PM October 4, 2024
Public Night 8PM October 7, 2024 "Cosmology Series 1"
Please register online or email for reservations
Check out the video of the new telescope installation!
The MCAO mirror blanks were ordered in 2019 from Schott Glass in Germany. The mirror is made of Zerodur, a low thermal expansion ceramic. The mirrors had an interesting journey. Schott Glass, in Mainz Germany, was ready to ship the blanks just as the pandemic took hold. The blanks were considered "non essential" and had to wait a few months for shipment. Once on their journey, they travelled from Mainz to Frankfurt Germany on June 15, 2020 From Frankfurt, they went to Paris, then to Chicago, and to Denver, finally arriving arriving in DFM's Optical Lab. The mirror arrived at MCAO on June 4, 2024.
The aspherical grinding of the primary mirror was completed at the end of August 2020. The primary mirror will be a f/2.2 concave hyperboloid. The secondary mirror will amplify the primary beam to f/4. It is interesting to note that the 24 inch telescope primary mirror would fit in the new primary mirror.s central hole. The picture on the right shows the mirror in its crate, arriving at MCAO!