The Whole is more than the Sum of its Bricks

The AAO team of the Industrial Mathematics Institute of the JKU Linz has gained profound experience in the fields of adaptive optics during the ELT-project with ESO. Based on this expertise, the AAO team is engaged in the SFB-project “Tomography across the Scales”, especially in the sub-project “P5 – Tomography in Astrophysics”. The focus lies (among other topics) on the control of specific components of a telescope’s AO system, mainly deformable mirrors. In such a context it is crucial not to lose sight of the “big picture”, i.e., the complete telescope and especially where the investigated components are located and how they interact with each other and with other parts of the whole system. It was decided that the best overview with this respect can be gained by hands-on construction of a slightly simplified 3D model of the ELT. Especially a model built up from LEGO ™ bricks, designed by Frans Snik, seemed most appropriate. The model is currently constructed by members of the AAO team, revealing hidden synergies between science and fun. Photographic documentation of the construction process will follow in an own thread of the SFB’s facebook site.