Post #4240311
2026-07-28 21:21 UTC
You might be thinking that the bowl you could see there was the underside of the shiny white surface. But it is actually the underside of the original surface from 1957. When they upgraded the telescope in the 1970s they put a new surface, with a different curvature, above the old surface. The result is a big cavern between the "old" and "new" surfaces. Apologies for the blurry shot - blame my 2002 digital camera.
Replies (1)
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@slowe@mastodon.me.uk 2026-07-28 21:25
From between the old and new surfaces you have to climb up a vertical ladder to the working surface. You get a dramatic view of the focus tower looking straight up. If you look closely you can probably make out some radio astronomy receivers up in the focus tower that are pointing down.