Quick Shot

View OMEGA from the Visitors Gallery

August 01, 2011
Target about to be inserted onto its positioner before being transported to the center of the chamber

A view of the OMEGA Target Bay displays many uncommon, and sometimes mystifying, structures. For example, the center structure seen here houses a 10-ft-wide, spherical vacuum chamber designed to implode a target the size of a grain of sand. Although typically unseen, such targets must be manually introduced into the chamber. This image shows one of the targets being inserted into its positioner before being transported to the center of the chamber.