Professional stargazers this week will get their first view of a new telescope that could change their industry by astronomical proportions.

Kansas University researchers, who are taking the lead in developing what has been dubbed the “telescope of the future,” will unveil a prototype of their new design Tuesday at the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego.

“We’re part of the meeting’s press conference, so that will generate some buzz,” said Bruce Twarog, professor of physics and astronomy. “It’s something we’re trying to make people aware of and get people interested in the technology. We want to talk to people and get feedback on things that need to be corrected, changed or adjusted.”

The prototype, one of two developed so far, is part of a $1.4 million project funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Researchers from KU, San Diego State University, Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and Composite Mirror Applications in Tucson, Ariz., are involved.

The project aims to use lightweight composite materials in the telescope’s mirrors instead of conventional glass. The resulting telescopes will be cheaper to make and more lightweight, which would make them easier to transport in spaceflight.

The technique is based on layering sheets of lightweight graphite fibers embedded in resin on a mold that has the same shape of the desired mirror. After curing, the merged layers cool and harden to the exact shape of the mold.

After removal from the mold, the mirror surface is aluminized in the same manner as a conventional glass mirror.

The prototype to be unveiled Tuesday, which has a 16-inch mirror, weighs about 20 pounds. A conventional telescope of the same size would weigh about 225 pounds, Twarog said.

A prototype telescope, dubbed the telescope

“It’s pretty much gone as we hoped it would,” Twarog said. “There are always small problems, but it’s basically on the right track.”

Plans call for the prototypes to be honed before construction of a larger telescope with a 1-meter (3 foot) mirror. That telescope will be based at Mount Laguna Observatory, about 45 miles east of San Diego.

“Hopefully in the next year we’ll have the final product done,” Twarog said.