> click for a full-screen image (1MB) <
The picture shows the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in the factory of Ansaldo Energia in Milano, Italy, where it has been assembled.
(credit: John Hill, Steward Observatory, Arizona and the LBT project )
The LBT is a telescope for the optical and infrared wavelength range
which has two 8.4m diameter main mirrors on the same optical mount which
eventually
will be coupled interferometrically to produce images with a spatial
resolution ten times better than that of the
Hubble Space Telescope.
This picture has been chosen because the telescope has reached a very important milestone on its way to completion, namely that the telescope structure has been completely assembled in the Ansaldo factory and it has succesfully moved in both the altitude and the azimuth directions under its own power. This means that the telescope structure itself is very close to completion and the telescope will soon be disassembled and shipped from Milano in Italy to the summit of Mt. Graham in Arizona where the telescope will be installed over the next couple of years.
The LBT project is an international project with partners from the United States (50%), Italy (25%) and Germany (25%).
For detailed information see the AIP LBT project page