Moonlit Heliostat

The full Moon rises behind the heliostat of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. The heliostat has a 2.03-meter (80-inch) mirror that reflects sunlight into the optical path of the telescope. The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope was the largest solar telescope in the world upon its completion in 1962, a title it held until the first light of the National Solar Observatory’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in December 2019. The interior of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope is currently being renovated to become the Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach.

Credit:

KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

About the Image

Id:iotw2037a
Type:Photographic
Release date:Sept. 9, 2020, 12:28 p.m.
Size:5184 x 3456 px

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