<p>Start by  drawing the largest inscribable circle (circle completely contained within the mirror assembly).  Then  draw, e.g., the smallest superscribing circle (completely contains all the mirrors), and calculate how many more hexagons are needed to fill the additional area covered.  </p>

<p>Finally, draw the circle showing the design entrance aperture of the telescope to see how much of the aperture is lost vs. how much of the outer hexagons' area is unused in each case.   </p>

<p>Then do a cost vs.  quality tradeoff.  Take into consideration (for the smaller telescopes) the delta cost of using more, smaller hexagons.   </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-17T14:13:35.557Z
2020-04-17T14:13:35.557Z
Carl Witthoft
<p>Just for fun here's the diffraction pattern from <em>Hubble's circular aperture</em> and 4-vane secondary support. Most of the time the concentric rings are not visible because images are broadband and they get washed out, but they are here because the exposure is through a narrow-band filter. From <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/28238/7982">What is the cause of all of these sharp, concentric rings around bright stars in this HST image?</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Y2OGQ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Y2OGQ.png" alt="HST diffraction pattern through narrow-band filter"></a></p>

<hr>

<p>This is a partial answer.</p>

<p>Each small mirror will impose its own strong six-spiked diffraction pattern in the telescopes point-spread function. For telescope apertures build from a large number of hexagonal mirrors this will dominate the point-spread function.</p>

<p>The choice of pattern for the tiling of small mirrors to fill the full aperture will have a much smaller effect.</p>

<p>JWST simulated point spread function from James Webb Space Telescope User Documentation's <a href="https://jwst-docs.stsci.edu/near-infrared-camera/nircam-predicted-performance/nircam-point-spread-functions" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NIRCam Point Spread Functions</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mCA4n.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mCA4n.jpg" alt="WST simulated point spread function"></a></p>

<p>I found an analytical expression for the diffraction pattern from (or at least the Fourier transform of) a single hexagonal aperture (or flat mirror) in <a href="https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/9910/83380">this answer</a> to <em>How does Fraunhofer diffraction depend on the orientation of the sides of a lens?</em> in Physics SE.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Hexagonal aperture. I take the following function:
  <span class="math-container">$$ \begin{split}
h(x,y) = \left[\theta(2y+\sqrt{3})-\theta(2y-\sqrt{3})\right]\cdot
\left[\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(x-1))-\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(x+1))\right]\cdot\\
\left[\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(-x-1))-\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(1-x))\right]
\end{split}$$</span>
  With <span class="math-container">$\theta(x)$</span> -- is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviside_step_function" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Heaviside step function</a>.<br>
  While it is in principle possible to calculate the Fourier transform of this by hand, I've just fed it to CAS and I've got something like this:
  <span class="math-container">$$\frac{2\sqrt{3}\omega_x\left(\cos\frac{\omega_x}{2}\cos\frac{\sqrt{3}\omega_y}{2}
-\cos\omega_x\right)-6\omega_y\sin\frac{\omega_x}{2}\sin\frac{\sqrt{3}\omega_y}{2}}
{\pi \omega_x(\omega_x^2-3\omega_y^2)}$$</span>
  ...plus some singular terms that I've dropped.<br>
  Plotting square of the result (from -100 to 100)  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here's my plot and a python script based on that expression:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/T3yWE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/T3yWE.png" alt="diffraction from a hexagonal aperture"></a></p>

<pre><code>import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def hexamp(omx, omy):
    """diffraction amplitude hexagonal aperture from
    https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/9910/83380"""
    C, S = np.cos, np.sin
    rt3 = np.sqrt(3)

    term_1 = 2 * rt3 * omx * (C(omx/2.)*C(rt3*omy/2.) - C(omx))

    term_2 = -6 * omy * S(omx/2.) * S(rt3*omy/2.)

    bottom = np.pi * omx * (omx**2 - 3.*omy**2)

    return (term_1 + term_2)/bottom

omega = np.arange(-100, 100, 0.1)
omx, omy = np.meshgrid(omega, omega)

amplitude = hexamp(omx, omy)

I = np.abs(amplitude)**2

if True:
    plt.figure()
    plt.imshow(np.log10(I), cmap='gray', vmin=-6)
    plt.gca().set_aspect('equal')
    plt.gca().axes.xaxis.set_ticklabels([])
    plt.gca().axes.yaxis.set_ticklabels([])
    plt.colorbar()
    plt.title('log10(I)', fontsize=14)
    plt.show()
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-18T01:56:29.317Z
2020-04-18T02:05:14.700Z
2020-04-18T02:05:14.700Z
uhoh
<p>Per <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comparison_optical_telescope_primary_mirrors.svg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this diagram</a> why are the larger (30 meter and European) mirrors filled out to nearly a full circle, while the smaller mirrors composed of hexagons retain a hexagonal border limit instead of filling out and approximating a full circle?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-16T20:31:51.290Z
I'm not sure I'm seeing this.  Could you make for example the SALT more circular by "filling out" I think adding extra hexes would tend to make it less circular.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-17T21:07:43.653Z
The smaller the individual hexagons, the closer you can approximate a complete circle.  There must be calculations for driving cost vs. individual hexagon size vs. required or desired coverage, which were done for each telescope.  Perhaps examples are online somewhere.
Witness Protection ID 44583292
<telescope><mirror>
Why are larger hex mirrors round and the smaller aren't?
Witness Protection ID 44583292
# Why are larger hex mirrors round and the smaller aren't?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-16)

Per [this diagram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Comparison_optical_telescope_primary_mirrors.svg) why are the larger (30 meter and European) mirrors filled out to nearly a full circle, while the smaller mirrors composed of hexagons retain a hexagonal border limit instead of filling out and approximating a full circle?

**Tags:** telescope, mirror

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not sure I'm seeing this.  Could you make for example the SALT more circular by "filling out" I think adding extra hexes would tend to make it less circular.  
> **username_0**: The smaller the individual hexagons, the closer you can approximate a complete circle.  There must be calculations for driving cost vs. individual hexagon size vs. required or desired coverage, which were done for each telescope.  Perhaps examples are online somewhere.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-04-17. Score: 2

Start by drawing the largest inscribable circle (circle completely contained within the mirror assembly). Then draw, e.g., the smallest superscribing circle (completely contains all the mirrors), and calculate how many more hexagons are needed to fill the additional area covered.

Finally, draw the circle showing the design entrance aperture of the telescope to see how much of the aperture is lost vs. how much of the outer hexagons' area is unused in each case.

Then do a cost vs. quality tradeoff. Take into consideration (for the smaller telescopes) the delta cost of using more, smaller hexagons.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-04-18. Score: 1

Just for fun here's the diffraction pattern from *Hubble's circular aperture* and 4-vane secondary support. Most of the time the concentric rings are not visible because images are broadband and they get washed out, but they are here because the exposure is through a narrow-band filter. From [What is the cause of all of these sharp, concentric rings around bright stars in this HST image?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/28238/7982)

[![HST diffraction pattern through narrow-band filter](https://i.sstatic.net/Y2OGQ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/Y2OGQ.png)

---

This is a partial answer.

Each small mirror will impose its own strong six-spiked diffraction pattern in the telescopes point-spread function. For telescope apertures build from a large number of hexagonal mirrors this will dominate the point-spread function.

The choice of pattern for the tiling of small mirrors to fill the full aperture will have a much smaller effect.

JWST simulated point spread function from username_1 Webb Space Telescope User Documentation's [NIRCam Point Spread Functions](https://jwst-docs.stsci.edu/near-infrared-camera/nircam-predicted-performance/nircam-point-spread-functions)

[![WST simulated point spread function](https://i.sstatic.net/mCA4n.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mCA4n.jpg)

I found an analytical expression for the diffraction pattern from (or at least the Fourier transform of) a single hexagonal aperture (or flat mirror) in [this answer](https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/9910/83380) to *How does Fraunhofer diffraction depend on the orientation of the sides of a lens?* in Physics SE.

> Hexagonal aperture. I take the following function:
> $$ \begin{split}
> h(x,y) = \left[\theta(2y+\sqrt{3})-\theta(2y-\sqrt{3})\right]\cdot
> \left[\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(x-1))-\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(x+1))\right]\cdot\\
> \left[\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(-x-1))-\theta(y-\sqrt{3}(1-x))\right]
> \end{split}$$
> With $\theta(x)$ -- is a [Heaviside step function](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviside_step_function).  
> While it is in principle possible to calculate the Fourier transform of this by hand, I've just fed it to CAS and I've got something like this:
> $$\frac{2\sqrt{3}\omega\_x\left(\cos\frac{\omega\_x}{2}\cos\frac{\sqrt{3}\omega\_y}{2}
> -\cos\omega\_x\right)-6\omega\_y\sin\frac{\omega\_x}{2}\sin\frac{\sqrt{3}\omega\_y}{2}}
> {\pi \omega\_x(\omega\_x^2-3\omega\_y^2)}$$
> ...plus some singular terms that I've dropped.  
> Plotting square of the result (from -100 to 100)

Here's my plot and a python script based on that expression:

[![diffraction from a hexagonal aperture](https://i.sstatic.net/T3yWE.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/T3yWE.png)

```
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def hexamp(omx, omy):
    """diffraction amplitude hexagonal aperture from
    https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/9910/83380"""
    C, S = np.cos, np.sin
    rt3 = np.sqrt(3)

    term_1 = 2 * rt3 * omx * (C(omx/2.)*C(rt3*omy/2.) - C(omx))

    term_2 = -6 * omy * S(omx/2.) * S(rt3*omy/2.)

    bottom = np.pi * omx * (omx**2 - 3.*omy**2)

    return (term_1 + term_2)/bottom

omega = np.arange(-100, 100, 0.1)
omx, omy = np.meshgrid(omega, omega)

amplitude = hexamp(omx, omy)

I = np.abs(amplitude)**2

if True:
    plt.figure()
    plt.imshow(np.log10(I), cmap='gray', vmin=-6)
    plt.gca().set_aspect('equal')
    plt.gca().axes.xaxis.set_ticklabels([])
    plt.gca().axes.yaxis.set_ticklabels([])
    plt.colorbar()
    plt.title('log10(I)', fontsize=14)
    plt.show()

```


---

