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  1. World’s largest mirrors
  2. World’s largest mirrors

World’s largest
mirrors

Image resolving power

The primary mirrors will give the Giant Magellan Telescope 7–10 times the light-gathering power of the most advanced telescopes that exist today.10 times the image resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope

4 times the image resolution of the James Webb Space Telescope

3 times the image resolution of the Large Binocular Telescope

Image resolving power

The primary mirrors will give the Giant Magellan Telescope 7–10 times the light-gathering power of the most advanced telescopes that exist today.10 times the image resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope

4 times the image resolution of the James Webb Space Telescope

3 times the image resolution of the Large Binocular Telescope

Climate control

The primary mirrors will give the Giant Magellan Telescope 7–10 times the light-gathering power of the most advanced telescopes that exist today.10 times the image resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope

4 times the image resolution of the James Webb Space Telescope

3 times the image resolution of the Large Binocular Telescope

Revolution in Resolution

August 14, 2018
Excavation Begins on Giant Magellan Telescope Site in Chile
24.5 M
is the total area of the primary mirrors. The primary mirror will be comprised of seven separate 8.4 meter (27 foot) diameter segments.
<10G
The thickness of the aluminium film that the mirrors are coated with is just a few atoms. Thus the huge mirror needs just a few grams of aluminium for the coat.
17 TONS
is the total weight of the mirrors. It is a borosilicate glass with a very low, and very uniform, rate of thermal expansion.

News from the Construction Site

March 16, 2019

Excavation of Giant Magellan Telescope Pier and Enclosure Foundations Complete
Astronomy.com September 17, 2020

How We’ll Find Life in the Universe
Popular Mechanics February 14, 2018

The Deep Space Eye in the Desert

Selected Articles on Telescopic Mirror Systems

March 24, 2022
Gran Proyección Lumínica Sobre El Universo Se Presentará En Parque Bicentenario
March 08, 2022
Giant Magellan Telescope Awards IDOM Final Design of its Telescope Enclosure
March 08, 2022
El Telescopio Magallanes Gigante otorga a IDOM el diseño final del edificio del telescopio
February 06, 2022
The Year in Photos 2021
November 05, 2021
US Extremely Large Telescope Program Ranked As Top Astro2020 Initiative

Enjoy the Progress

Items —
Aerial view of the Giant Magellan Telescope Construction Site
Aerial view of the Giant Magellan Telescope Construction Site
Aerial view of the Giant Magellan Telescope Construction Site

Additional Resources

The G-CLEF spectrograph optical design: an update to the white pupil echelle configuration Furesz, G., et al. | Proc. SPIE 9147-343, (2014)
Feasibility studies for the detection of O2 in an Earth-like exoplanet Rodler, F. and Lopez-Morales, M. | ApJ, 781, 12, (2014)
A preliminary design for the GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) Szentgyorgyi , A. et al. | Proc. SPIE 9147, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, 914726 (28 July 2014)
The GMT integral-field spectrograph (GMTIFS) conceptual design McGregor, P. J., Bloxham, G. J., Boz, R., Davies, J., Doolan, M. C., Ellis, M., Hart, J., Nielsen, J. J., Parcell, S., Sharp, R. G. and Stevanovic, D | Proc. SPIE 8446 (2012)
The GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF): an optical Echelle spectrograph for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) Szentgyorgi, A, et al. | Part of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016

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