UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA OBSERVATORIES / LICK OBSERVATORY

ALUMINIZING THE 3-METER MIRROR: FEBRUARY 2000

Removing the Mirror	BACK NEXT
Here, the lower end of the Shane 3-meter is seen with the "mirror-handling platform" rolled underneath. The "mirror cell" - the yellow cylinder at the bottom of the telescope - contains the mirror itself. Beneath it is the the TUB (Telescope Utilization Bin) which serves as an interface between telescope and instruments.	Removing the mirror from the telescope begins with removing the TUB. A heavy crane, suspended from the highest point in the telescope dome, will be used to lift the TUB and, later, the mirror itself
The TUB, now removed from its usual place at the back of the telscope, rests on the mirror-handling platform just before being lifted and set aside until the resurfacing is complete and the mirror reinstalled.	With the TUB removed, the platform is rolled back under the telescope, directly beneath the mirror cell. The cell and mirror will be lowered onto the platform and rolled free of the telescope.
Here, the mirror and cell have just been lowered onto the mirror-handling platform and are being rolled out from beneath the telescope.
Now completely clear of the telescope, the mirror rests on the platform, awaiting cleaning and stripping. The black "pipe" in the center of the mirror is a light baffle above the central "cassegrain" hole. The baffle and anything else attached to the glass will be removed for realuminizing.
Working from beneath the mirror-handling platfrom, technicians disassemble the mirror support system in order to free the mirror from its cell.	An element of the complex mirror support system is extracted. The back of the huge Pyrex mirror was cast in the shape of a honey comb for lightness, strength, and to accommodate the supports.