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Unbelievably Large Telescopes On the Moon?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thats-no-moon dept.

Matt_dk writes "A team of internationally renowned astronomers and opticians may have found a way to make "unbelievably large" telescopes on the Moon. 'It's so simple,' says Ermanno F. Borra, physics professor at the Optics Laboratory of Laval University in Quebec, Canada. 'Isaac Newton knew that any liquid, if put into a shallow container and set spinning, naturally assumes a parabolic shape, the same shape needed by a telescope mirror to bring starlight to a focus. This could be the key to making a giant lunar observatory.'"

10 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. Wow by ekimd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As with many ideas, this is so simple I can't believe we haven't thought of this before.

    --
    'Impossible' is a word that humans use far too often. -- Seven of Nine
    1. Re:Wow by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 5, Interesting

      We have. This "news" is literally decades old.

      http://www.google.com/search?q=liquid+telescope+moon&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS264US264

      http://inventorspot.com/articles/liquid_lunar_telescope_5345 That one says that it was first suggested in 1991. I bet someone thought of it earlier.

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  2. It WILL happen one day by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Since the "dark" side of the moon is protected from the radio emissions from Earth, I think it's inevitable that the dark side will one day be "the" spot for big radio telescope arrays. Why not put our biggest optical telescope there as well?

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
    1. Re:It WILL happen one day by interiot · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Stick at relay satellite at the Earth-Moon L4 or L5. That means the telescope couldn't be exactly opposite Earth, but if there's still a lot of room where it's shielded from Earth but still in view of L4 or L5.

    2. Re:It WILL happen one day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Don't be ridiculous; the moon is both smaller, less geologically active and less populated that any place on earth.

      It would be a simple thing to install a fiberoptic "lunar telegraph" from one side to the other,.

      It's not like you have to dig under peoples houses and get easements, after all :)

    3. Re:It WILL happen one day by ari_j · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Would that by cynthiosynchronous? I'm not sure, although I know that pericynthion is to the moon as perigee is to the Earth. At any rate, I suspect that the month-long rotational period of the moon means that a synchronous orbit would be outside of the moon's influence to the point it would be picked off by the Earth. In fact, rough figuring with my calculator shows that the radius of a moon-synchronous orbit is 230 times the distance of the moon from the Earth. You'll have to just play around with Lagrangian points and hope for the best.

  3. Read TFA, sounds fundamentally flawed. by plasmacutter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The "liquids" to be used are less dense than water, and being placed on the lunar surface, which is covered in dust several times finer than baking powder.

    I'd give it about 3-5 days (depending on the size) before the "revolving liquid mirrors" become revolving lunar mud pies.

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  4. Spin it & freeze it by Alain+Williams · · Score: 4, Interesting
    If they spin it up, let is settle and then freeze it they would have a perfect steerable mirror. Any reason why this would not work, perhaps the crystals that form on freezing making imperfections ?

    It would mean having to choose the right material (solid at moon temperature, liquid at not too much more, small/no surface crystals on freezing, ionic so that it can be coated with silver, ...). Making something like this on the moon would be much cheaper than taking it up there.

    OK: I understand that they might not want to steer if far off vertical to keep things cheap but I would have thought that a little directionality would be a boon.

  5. Put the telescope 550 AU out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...at the sun's gravitational focus. You'd be able to resolve a planet halfway across the galaxy.

    First link I pulled from Google (but there are several others): http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=176

  6. Re:Ob by Probie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    if the strongest man on the planet can lift aprox. three times his own weight, then on the moon he should be able to lift 18 times his own (earth) weight.... so i guess the question is: does the telescope weigh less than that? And are you the strongest man on the planet?

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