The most powerful telescope of all time is coming to Chile

The Earth-based Giant Magellan Telescope is poised to discover habitable planets and unlock space's deep secrets in collaboration with its cosmic cousin, the JWST.

BY MARISSA WU / POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY | PUBLISHED AUG 13, 2022 7:00 PM



The telescope is a collaboration between institutions representing five countries. Giant Magellan Telescope

If you thought the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was impressive, think again. With a fresh $205 million in funding secured to accelerate its construction, the Giant Magellan Telescope is poised to be the most powerful telescope… ever. It will be used to hunt for habitable planets, study the first galaxies of the universe, and attempt to explain mysteries like dark matter and energy.

Giant Magellan Telescope receives $205 million in funding

The $205 million check is one of the largest in the Giant Magellan Telescope’s history, led by the Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, and the University of Chicago.

The funds will be used to construct the 12-story telescope, including the seven primary mirrors underway at the University of Arizona’s Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab and an advanced spectrograph instrument in Texas. The final product will be assembled at Ingersoll Machine Tools in Illinois.



The Giant Magellan Telescope site will be located in Chile. Giant Magellan Telescope

“The funding is truly a collaborative effort from our Founders. It will result in the fabrication of the world’s largest mirrors, the giant telescope mount that holds and aligns them, and a science instrument that will allow us to study the chemical evolution of stars and planets like never before,” says Dr. Robert Shelton, President of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO).

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https://www.popsci.com/science/giant-magellan-telescope-2/