HEAO-2 (Einstein) X-ray Telescope Mirror Assembly

The Second High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO-2) was renamed the Einstein Observatory after it achieved orbit. The central piece of the satellite was a 0.6 meter grazing incidence telescope, one of the first imaging telescopes ever made for X-ray astronomy. The mirrors were made from fused quartz coated with a thin layer of nickel. They were arranged in as a set of four concentric tubes with highly polished inside surfaces. X-rays would graze the first inside surface (which had a parabolic curvature) and bounce off them, then graze a second set of mirrors (which had a hyperbolic curvature), which brought the X-rays to a focus at the focal plane.

The "Imagine the Universe" education outreach site provides more detailed information on the principles and history of X-ray telescope designs.

Photo Credit: Perkin-Elmer

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