Focal Plane Testing

Parker Fagrelius, a DESI Collaboration member and NOIRLab scientist, tests the wedge-shaped petals for DESI’s focal plane in a clean room at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in April 2019. Ten petals, each containing 500 robotic positioners that are used to gather light from targeted galaxies, form the complete focal plane. The focal plane is now installed on the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, near Tucson, Arizona.