Physics Colloquium, February 10, 2004

The Large Binocular Telescope Project

Patrick S. Osmer
Professor and Department Chair

The Ohio State University
Department of Astronomy

Ohio State is a partner in the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Project, which is being built on Mt. Graham, Arizona. With its twin 8.4-m primary mirrors, the LBT will be the world's largest optical/infrared telescope on a single mount when it is completed in 2005. The telescope will have a variety of instruments, including wide-field imagers and imaging spectrometers. When used in interferometric mode, the telescope will provide angular resolution equivalent to that of a 23-m telescope. Other partners in the project are Arizona, a group of German institutes, the Italian national astrophysics institute, and Research Corporation, a science foundation under whose auspices Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia will gain observing time.

I will review the background and science goals of the project, describe the main components of the telescope system and instrumentation, and give an update on the current status of the project. First light is scheduled to occur this year.

3.30 p.m., Smith Laboratory, Room 1005

Refreshments served in Smith 1094 at 3:00 p.m.