Giant telescope will address key questions in cosmology and astrophysics.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
A group of scientists and astronomers are excited to announce the commencement of on-site construction of a giant Magellan telescope in Chile, which is expected to be the largest telescope ever built when it is completed in 2021.
Chilean President Michelle Bachele, leading scientists, senior officials, and supporters from the US lead international consortium of universities and research institutions gathered on Wednesday evening to mark the start of the construction on a remote mountaintop in the Chilean Andes.
Experts say the giant Magellan (GMT) telescope will produce images ten times sharper than those delivered by the Hubble Space Telescope and will address key questions in cosmology, astrophysics and the study of planets outside our solar system.
It will enable astronomers to characterize planets orbiting other stars, witness early formation of galaxies and stars, and gain insight into dark matter and dark energy. GMT’s findings will also likely give rise to new questions and lead to new and unforeseen discoveries, according to scientists.
The giant telescope will be located at the Las Campanas observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Known for its clear, dark skies and outstanding astronomical image clarity, Las Campanas is one of the world’s premier locations for astronomy.
“We are thrilled to be breaking ground on the Giant Magellan Telescope site at such an exciting time for astronomy,” said Dr. Taft Armandroff, Board Chair and Director of the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin.
“With its unprecedented size and resolving power, the Giant Magellan Telescope will allow current and future generations of astronomers to continue the journey of cosmic discovery.”
The unique design of the telescope combines seven of the largest mirrors that can be manufactured, each 8.4 meters (27 feet) across, to create a single telescope effectively 25 meters or 85 feet in diameter.
The giant mirrors are being developed at the University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory. Each mirror must be polished to an accuracy of 25 nanometers or one millionth of an inch.
The telescope will begin early operations in 2021, and it is expected to reach full operational capacity within the next decade.
“An enormous amount of work has gone into the design phase of the project and development of the giant mirrors that are the heart of the telescope. The highest technical risks have been retired, and we are looking forward to bringing the components of the telescope together on the mountain top,” said Patrick McCarthy, Interim President of GMTO.
The GMT organization is a collaboration of institutions in the United States, Chile, South Korea, Brazil, and Australia.
The organization manages the project on behalf of its international partners: The University of Arizona, University of Chicago, University of Texas, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Carnegie Institution for Science, Sao Paulo Research Foundation, Harvard University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Smithsonian Institution, and Texas A&M University.