Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

Polishing a telescope mirror to perfection | Space photo of the day for Oct. 6, 2025

A man wearing a white jumpsuit and hair net and white gloves lays on a glass mirror and polishes it.

Night after night in the dry air of Chile's Atacama Desert, fine dust and pollutants settle on the aluminum coating of the mirrors belonging to the Very Large Telescope, part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). This process degrades the mirrors' reflectivity and clarity over time, so technicians regularly recoat and polish them to ensure the best precision.

What is it?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.