|
|
|
 Last
modified: 2004/07/22
| LINKS |
| |
| EXTREMELY
LARGE TELESCOPES |
| |
| There is a number of ongoing design studies
for telescopes with diameters of 15 meters upwards. The
list below is probably incomplete, as new concepts arise,
others merge. |
| |
Name
|
Aperture
(m)
|
. |
|
| TMT |
30
|
US-Canada
(AURA, CALTECH, University of California and ACURA)
teaming up. |
| GMT |
25
|
The
Giant Magellan Telescope |
| EURO50 |
50
|
Collaboration
between Swedish, Spanish, Finnish and Irish institutes. |
| LAMA |
42
|
Large
Aperture Mirror Array |
|
| |
| OPTICON
- OPTICAL-INFRARED COORDINATION NETWORK |
| |
| OPTICON
is a project funded by the European commission as part
of its Sixth Framework Programme. OPTICON brings together
providers and users of European astronomical infrastructures
to identify common approaches and improve access for the
benefit of all European astronomy. |
| |
| ALREADY
QUITE LARGE |
| |
| Telescopes of the 20th century allowed
giant leaps in science, from revealing the true
nature of galaxies to finding plausible desciptions
of the very first moments of the universe. It would
be impossible to give proper credit to all of these
incredible science machines; the list below aims
only at providing links to the largest and best
known optical telescopes. |
Name
|
Aperture
(m)
|
Location |
. |
|
| Keck
I & II |
2
x 10.0
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii |
Segmented
telescopes, interferometer. |
| Hobby-Eberly |
9.2
|
Mt
Fowlkes, Texas |
A
fixed elevation, low cost spectroscopic telescope. |
| Subaru |
8.3
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii |
Active
telescope made in Japan. |
| VLT |
4
x 8.2
|
Cerro
Paranal, Chile |
Very
Large Telescope; Europe's flagship. |
| Gemini |
2
x 8.0
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii
Cerro Pachon, Chile
|
Twin
8-m telescopes in the Northern and Southern
hemispheres. |
| Magellan |
2
x 6.5
|
Las
Campanas, Chile
|
Twin
6.5-m telescopes; also known as the Walter
Baade and Landon Clay telescopes. |
| MMT |
6.5
|
Mt
Hopkins, US, Az |
Replacement
of the 4.2-m Multi-Mirror Telescope |
| Bolshoi
Teleskop Azimutalnyi |
6.0
|
Nizhny
Arkhyz, Russia |
Breaking
limits, and the first large altazimuth telescope |
| Hale |
5.0
|
Palomar
Mountain, US,
Ca. |
Nothing
less than a legend |
| William
Herschel |
4.2
|
La
Palma, Canary Islands, Spain |
Altazimuthal;
largest member of the famous Isaac Newton
Group of telescopes. |
| Victor
Blanco |
4.0
|
Cero
Tololo, Chile |
The
largest telescope in the Southern hemisphere
until 1998. |
| AAT |
3.9
|
Siding
Springs,
Australia |
The
Anglo-Australian Telescope |
| Mayall |
3.8
|
Kitt
Peak, US, Az. |
|
| UKIRT |
3.8
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii |
Dedicated
to infrared |
| AEOS |
3.7
|
Haleakala,
Maui (Hawaii) |
Maui
Space Surveillance System; mostly military |
| 360 |
3.6
|
Cerro
la Silla, Chile |
Europe's
first major telescope in the Southern hemisphere. |
| CFHT |
3.6
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii |
Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope |
| TNG |
3.6
|
La
Palma, Canary Islands, Spain |
Telescopio
Nazionale Galileo (Italy) |
| Calar
Alto 3.5 |
3.5
|
Calar
Alto, Spain |
The
largest telescope in continental Europe |
| NTT |
3.5
|
Cerro
la Silla, Chile |
New
Technology Telescope; first active telescope |
| ARC |
3.5
|
Apache
Point, NM, US |
Astrophysical
Research Consortium |
| WIYN |
3.5
|
Kitt
Peak, US, Az. |
Kitt
Peak's latest acquisition |
|
| UNDER
CONSTRUCTION |
|
| VLTI |
4
x 8.2
|
Cerro
Paranal, Chile |
The
4 VLT telescopes and auxilliary 1.8-m combined
in an interferometer |
| Keck
Interferometer |
2
x 10.0
|
Mauna
Kea, Hawaii |
The
twin Keck and auxilliary telescopes combined
in an interferometer |
| GTC |
10.4
|
La
Palma, Canary Islands, Spain |
Gran
Telescopio Canarias; a segmented mirror design
inspired from the Keck |
| SALT |
9.2
|
Sutherland,
South Africa |
South
Africa's Large Telescope. Design inspired
from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) |
| LBT |
2
x 8.4-m
|
Mt.
Graham, Az, US |
Large
Binocular Telescope (formerly Columbus) |
|
|
|
|
