GTCdigital

The secondary mirror's time has come. It too is entitled to an aluminium shower which will allow it, like a spy, to feed back what the primary mirror reflects to it. In this edition, however, we focus on movement: it's a frenzy of movement for the telescope's optical system, whether visible to the human eye or not. Movements like the active optics system adjusting each primary mirror segment, the tertiary mirror working to redirect light and, of course, the movements of the secondary mirror. Read this article

Important science projects can normally count on the services of a group of experts who make initial recommendations and monitor progress. The GTC has such a group, made up of members of "SAC", the "Scientific Advisory Committee". Read this article

When she was asked if she was a surrealist, Frida Kahlo said "I have never painted my dreams. I paint my reality". This alone could have been a good enough reason for naming the GTC's (Gran Telescopio Canarias') new instrument FRIDA. Its development was led by the Institute of Astronomy of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (IA-UNAM) and, with its use of active optics, this instrument promises to make some of our dreams come true. Read this article

In recent months, the AIV (Assembly, Incorporation and Verification) Room at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has been turned upside down. Lorries have been arriving laden with instrument parts that have been unloaded, unpacked, tested, assembled and adjusted. The OSIRIS instrument is growing. One of its components is the filter wheel, which plays an important part in this symphony in O major: the OSIRIS symphony. Read this article

The segments have come together. They are here now, all 36 of them together with the 6 spares. They were delivered in consignments of six because that is how many specially designed packing cases were produced to keep them safe during transport. The cases were re-used a total of seven times to transport all of the mirrors to the site. Read this article