sexta-feira, julho 24, 2009

Largest optical telescope

Came into operation last Friday the largest optical telescope in the world




El Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) was inaugurated today by the Kings is with a mirror diameter of 10.4 meters, the second most powerful of its range in the world, behind South African Large Telescope, which has a 11 meter segmented mirror, and ahead of two Americans Keck in Hawaii, whose mirrors are 10 meters in diameter.

Installed in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM), on the Canary island of La Palma, at an altitude of 2396 meters and an area of 5000 square meters, captured the first light of the Universe "in the early hours of 13-14 July 2007, at a ceremony presided by the Prince of Asturias, Honor Astrophysical Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and in 2000 laid the foundation stone for the construction of this large telescope.

With an approximate cost of 160 million euros, the promoter of the GTC is the Astrophysics Institute of Canarias (IAC) and its construction is provided by a public company Grantecan SA, established in 1994 with the participation, as partners, the Autonomous Community Canary Islands and the State General Administration.

Also involved in the construction of the telescope and the Institute of Astronomy of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM-IA), the Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Elctrónica of Puebla (Mexico) and the University of Florida (USA).

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