Inside the Keck Dome!
After nearly a year of bureaucratic wrangling, for one night I was granted access inside the Keck telescope domes. Keck is the second-largest telescope in the world and the icon of American optical/infrared astronomy, so obtaining access was no small feat. Keck furthermore sponsored a commercial film permit for me. Many thanks to the Keck personnel for their assistance!
This is a still frame from one of my timelapse clips inside the Keck I dome. Andrea Ghez, a professor at UCLA, is using the OSIRIS instrument on Keck 1 to study the orbits of stars around the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The adaptive optics laser is launched from the center of the telescope, whereas Keck II's laser is launched from the side. The stars are reflected in the primary mirror, which is 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter. The primary mirror is composed of hexagonal segments because it would be impractical, if not impossible, to build a single mirror that large.
Inside the Keck Dome!
After nearly a year of bureaucratic wrangling, for one night I was granted access inside the Keck telescope domes. Keck is the second-largest telescope in the world and the icon of American optical/infrared astronomy, so obtaining access was no small feat. Keck furthermore sponsored a commercial film permit for me. Many thanks to the Keck personnel for their assistance!
This is a still frame from one of my timelapse clips inside the Keck I dome. Andrea Ghez, a professor at UCLA, is using the OSIRIS instrument on Keck 1 to study the orbits of stars around the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The adaptive optics laser is launched from the center of the telescope, whereas Keck II's laser is launched from the side. The stars are reflected in the primary mirror, which is 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter. The primary mirror is composed of hexagonal segments because it would be impractical, if not impossible, to build a single mirror that large.