Australian Scientists To Build Super-Sized Telescope

Researchers at the Australian National University are helping to build a super-sized telescope that will allow scientists to see deeper into space in the visible light range.

AsianScientist (Apr. 18, 2011) – Researchers at the Australian National University are helping to build a super-sized telescope that will allow scientists to see deeper into space in the visible light range than ever before.

The $700 million Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) – with a primary mirror the equivalent of 24.5 meters in diameter – will produce astronomical images up to 30 times sharper than existing ground-based telescopes.

This project is part of an international consortium that will build the telescope in the Chilean Andes.

At the launch of the project at ANU’s Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Center (AITC) in Canberra, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said the GMT promises to answer some of astronomy’s biggest questions.

“It will tell us about the early universe including formation of the first stars and the evolution of galaxies only a few million years after the Big Bang,” Carr said.

The Australian government is contributing nearly $90 million towards the telescope through the Education Investment Fund – $65 million for Australia’s share of construction costs and $23.4 million to the university. This funding would buy Australian astronomers time on the telescope once it is operational later this decade.

According to Carr, access to space is increasingly important not only for national security purposes, but also for technologies and activities that underpin national economies and modern-day life, including telecommunications, weather and climate monitoring, natural disaster warning, resource management, and navigation.

Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) (Source: Todd Mason/GMTO Corporation).

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Source: Australian National University.
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