29 Jul, 2016

In preparation for the arrival of the WEAVE MOS spectrograph, and for the first time in 30 years, the WHT's inner top-end ring (flip ring) has been successfully removed, craned to the ground floor, and the next day, re-installed on the telescope. It will be necessary to remove the flip ring each time the new top end for WEAVE (prime-focus corrector, fibre positioner) is mounted on the telescope.

The five photos above show (1) the flip ring lifted away from the outer ring, (2) the ring being craned past the GHRIL Nasmyth platform (to the left), (3) the WHT top end after removal of the ring, (4) the ring being craned down to the ground floor, and (5) the ring in its new trolley, and the team responsible for the work (top left to right: Chris Benn, José Miguel Díaz, Jürg Rey, and bottom: Raúl Concepción, Amado Guillén, Kevin Dee, Don Carlos, Servando Rodríguez, Emilie Lhomé and Roberto Martínez). Photos by Marc Balcells.