Design brief for the new CTAO telescope array appears to be "make them look like implausible props from a sci-fi movie" and I am in love

[unnick@booping.synth.download]

@lpbkdotnet@mstdn.social @jonty@chaos.social i think you could make do with just 1 laser by using diffraction gratings to split it

[whitequark@social.treehouse.systems]

@jonty long exposure shot right

[gsuberland@chaos.social]

@jtruk @jonty haaa

[blake@corteximplant.com]

@jonty Oh hell yea!

[nflux@gts.exile.social]

@jonty serious Death-Star vibes, but very cool!

[jonty@chaos.social]

@whitequark According to the description it was just a really foggy night!

[boxly@hachyderm.io]

@queekusme @jonty on it

[queekusme@mastodon.scot]

@boxly @jonty 🥳

[cararemixed@mastodon.social]

@jonty One of my neighbors whe I was a teen had access to a really high end 6 axis CNC and made a laser collimator which I used to focus my homemade 8" telescope. Shit was so cool and saved me sooo much time. If I ever make a telescope again, the collimation process is going to be part of the design from the start.

[rodneylives@mefi.social]

@jonty Just don't aim that thing at Alderaan

[falken@social.falkensweb.com]

@jonty that thing is bonkers

https://www.ctao.org/emission-to-discovery/telescopes/lst/

45 meters tall and 100 tons, moves between any two sky points in 20 seconds!

#science

[iris@neuromatch.social]

@jonty wait, that one looks like it's made of square panels instead. Alt text says hexagonal. (Still very cool.)

[babble_endanger@freeradical.zone]

@jonty in the bottom one I thought I saw a dinosaur and I was like wow they made a dinosaur solar cooker

[basil_hare@floofy.tech]

@jonty "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die."

[nead@social.vivaldi.net]

@jonty Ah dang! The laser beams reflected right back at the laser beam focuser thing and burnt it right up.

KIDDING!

could happen in a movie.

[nichni@mastodonapp.uk]

@jonty Death Beams from Mars!