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Post by swamprat on May 3, 2018 21:29:04 GMT
Truck driver by day and passionate skywatcher by night, Mike Clements has built what appears to be the world’s largest modern-day amateur telescope. The behemoth telescope has a primary mirror measuring 70 inches (1.8 meters) across. It is housed in a black metal cage that stands some 35 feet (10.7 meters) tall—the size of a school bus.
At the heart of Clements’ reflecting telescope is the 900-pound (408 kilograms) mirror, one made originally for a U.S. spy satellite program. However due to some minor damage during manufacturing, the mirror was mothballed, and eventually put up for auction, which is how Clements acquired it in 2005, according to press reports.
blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/11/08/worlds-largest-backyard-telescope/
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