Monday morning we drove into
Tucson and met Barb and Joe at the terminus of the downtown trolley. It was
easy to park there and ride it up to the University, where it would be very
difficult to park. We walked around campus a bit and had a cup of coffee at the
Starbucks near the Book Store. Barb had gotten tickets for us all to tour the
Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, housed under the University of Arizona Football
Stadium. Astronomy is a very big program at the University and, in the lab they
make the giant mirrors to use in large telescopes all over the world. Their
unique honeycomb method allows them to make the 8.4m mirrors needed for the
Giant Magellan Telescope that is being built in Chile by a consortium of 12
nations and universities, including U of A. Each of the 8 mirrors they are
making takes 5½ years to complete. (The first one took 7 years but they are
getting better and better at it). The GMT should be fully operational in 2024.
It was a really interesting tour full of figures and information. Afterwards we
ate a late lunch at Gentle Ben’s Brewery in the heart of the campus store and
restaurant district before taking the Trolley back to our cars, with plans to
meet at their house on Wednesday after we volunteer at the Church, which is
about 10 minutes from their home. I made stir fried vegetables and tofu again
for Meatless Monday and we wrote, read, and watched a movie about Mr. Rogers
for the evening.
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| Setting the "cells" that will be surrounded with melted glass |
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| The minute grinding with solution and water takes 5 months! |
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Barb and Joe, riding the trolley
We're so lucky to have these dear friends, in Arizona and in East Lansing. |
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