I had some business to attend to in Pheonix this weekend, but afterwards I moved on to Tucson for a visit.

Luckily, I was able to stop by and see one of my favorite telescope manufacturers.  Once we entered we were asked if we wanted a tour!  Dreams do come true!

Here is the grinding machines for the large telescopes.

The mirror coating machine that they recently purchased.

The main grinding room.

Blanks waiting to be transformed.

35mm and 60mm grinding machines waiting for blanks.

The blanks attached to base ready to be ground to perfection.

An early stage etalon ready to move on down the line.

The etalon is sandwiched between two blanks with tiny, tiny, tiny spacers less than .000005mm!

Ye Olde Optics Shop!  Yeah!

All the parts starting to come together.

Parts waiting to ship.

Completed 60mm solar scope waiting for pickup by their new owners.

A lone 100mm scope amid the 60mm scopes ready and waiting.

A microscope to place the spacers.

The spacers are made from pieces of a larger piece.  Literally, they just break off little pieces of the blank and place them to create the air gap necessary for the solar scope to work correctly.

Handing over an etalon!

Checking for perfection using a standard light emitter.

The business end of a Lunt Solar Scope ready for testing.

One last check, and Lunts are go!

You can find out more about these amazing solar scopes here.

Tomorrow, Kitt Peak!

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman