Eyes on the sky
A roster of new and proposed telescopes
| E-ELT | |
| Full name: | The European Extremely Large Telescope |
| Mirror: | 42 meters diameter |
| Timeline: | Projected to open in 2018 |
| Projected cost: | €1 billion |
| Basic mission: | largest ground-based optical/near-infrared telescope |
| Location: | Possible sites in Chile, Argentina, Canary Islands, Morocco |
| Online: | E-ELT Homepage – ESA |
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GMT |
|
| Full name: | Giant Magellan Telescope |
| Mirror: | 24.5 m |
| Timeline: | 2018 completion |
| Basic mission: | Next-generation telescope; large collecting area and high image quality |
| Location: | Las Campanas Observatory in Chile |
| Online: | GMT Homepage |
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TMT |
|
| Full name: | Thirty Meter Telescope |
| Mirror: | 30 m |
| Timeline: | Expected to start operation in 2017 |
| Basic mission: | Great view of early universe; work with the planned James Webb Space Telescope |
| Online: | Thirty Meter Telescope Homepage |
| Pan-STARRS | |
| Full name: | Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System |
| Mirror: | 1.8 m each |
| Timeline: | One of four planned systems is built |
| Projected cost: | $100 million |
| Basic mission: | 1.4-gigapexel cameras to image entire sky, find “killer” asteroids |
| Location: | Pan-STARRS 1 sits atop Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui |
| Online: | Pan-STARRS Homepage |
| LSST | |
| Full name: | Large Synoptic Survey Telescope |
| Mirror: | 8.4-meter mirror, 3.2 gigapixel camera |
| Timeline: | Start operation 2014 |
| Basic mission: | Speed: rapidly scan for asteroids and supernovas |
| Location: | Projected for a Chilean mountaintop |
| Online: | LSST Homepage |
| Gaia | |
| Full name: | Gaia |
| Timeline: | 2011 launch |
| Basic mission: | Provide 3-D map of galaxy’s stars |
| Location: | Orbit the sun at L2 |
| Online: | Gaia Homepage – ESA |
| JWST | |
| Full name: | The James Webb Space Telescope |
| Mirror: | 6.5 m |
| Timeline: | Launch set for 2013 |
| Projected cost: | $3.5 billion (could change as fiscal year 2010 budget is finalized) |
| Basic mission: | Use infrared wavelengths to image oldest, most distant objects |
| Location: | This space-based telescope will orbit the sun |
| Online: | JWST Homepage – NASA |
| ATST | |
| Full name: | Advanced Technology Solar Telescope |
| Mirror: | 4-meter aperture |
| Timeline: | Possibly start construction 2010 |
| Basic mission: | Study short-lived features of the sun at a fine scale |
| Location: | Targeted for Haleakala on Maui |
| Online: | ATST Homepage |
| ALMA | |
| Full name: | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array |
| Mirror: | 66 radio antennas will work together |
| Timeline: | Under construction; begin operations 2012 |
| Basic mission: | Probe the very first stars and galaxies, and directly image planets beyond the solar system |
| Location: | Atacama Desert in Chile |
| Online: | ALMA Observatory |
| LISA | |
| Full name: | Laser Interferometer Space Antenna |
| Mirror: | Three spacecraft create a 5-million-km interferometer |
| Timeline: | Part of the European Space Agency Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 |
| Basic mission: | Detect and observe gravitational waves (as from black holes) |
| Location: | Orbit the sun |
| Online: | LISA Homepage – NASA |