Far from the hustle and bustle of civilization, in the deserted deserts and on the tops of the mountains are majestic titans, whose eyes are always directed at the starry sky. Some have been standing for decades, while others have yet to see their first stars. Today we will find out where the 10 largest telescopes in the world are, and get to know each of them separately.
10. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
The telescope is located on top of the Chilean mountain Sero Pachon at an altitude of 2682 m above sea level. By type, it refers to optical reflectors. The diameter of the main mirror is 8.4 m. LSST will see the first light (a term meaning the first use of the telescope for its intended purpose) in 2020. And the device will begin to work fully in 2022. Despite the fact that the telescope is located outside the United States, its construction is financed by the Americans. One of them was Bill Gates, who invested $ 10 million. In total, the project will cost 400 million.
The main objective of the telescope is to photograph the night sky with a frequency of several nights. For this, the device has a 3.2 gigapixel camera. LSST has a large viewing angle of 3.5 degrees. The Moon and the Sun, for example, in the form in which they can be contemplated from the Earth, occupy only half a degree. Such ample opportunities are due to the impressive diameter of the telescope and its unique design. The fact is that here, instead of two familiar mirrors, three are used. This is not the largest telescope in the world, but it can become one of the most productive.
Scientific objectives of the project: search for traces of dark matter; mapping the Milky Way; detection of explosions of new and supernovae; tracking small objects of the solar system (asteroids and comets), in particular those that pass in close proximity to the Earth.
9. Large South African Telescope (SALT)
This unit is also an optical reflector. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, on a hilltop, in a semi-desert area near the settlement of Sutherland. The telescope height is 1798 m. The diameter of the main mirror is 11 / 9.8 m.
This is not the largest telescope in the world, but the largest in the southern hemisphere. The construction of the apparatus cost $ 36 million. A third of them allocated the government of South Africa. The rest of the amount was distributed between Germany, Great Britain, Poland, America and New Zealand.
The first shot of the SALT installation took place in 2005, almost immediately after the completion of construction work. As for optical telescopes, its design is rather non-standard. However, it was widely distributed among the latest representatives of large telescopes. The main mirror consists of 91 hexagonal elements, each of which has a diameter of 1 meter. To achieve certain goals and improve visibility, all mirrors can be adjusted in angle.
SALT was created for spectrometric and visual analysis of radiation emanating from astronomical objects located outside the field of view of telescopes located in the northern hemisphere. Employees of the telescope observe quasars, distant and nearby galaxies, and also track the evolution of stars.
A similar telescope is in America - the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. It is located in the suburbs of Texas and almost completely coincides in design with the installation of SALT.
8. Keck I and II
Two Keck telescopes are connected to a system that creates a single image. They are located in Hawaii on Mount Mauna Kea. Altitude is 4145 m. By type telescopes also belong to optical reflectors.
The Keck Observatory is located in one of the most favorable (from the point of view of the astroclimate) places on Earth. This means that atmospheric interference in observations is minimal. Therefore, the Keck Observatory has become one of the most effective in history. And despite the fact that the largest telescope in the world is not located here.
The main mirrors of Keck telescopes are completely identical to each other. They, like the SALT telescope, consist of a complex of moving elements. Here there are 36 for each of the devices. The shape of the mirror is a hexagon. The observatory can observe the sky in the optical and infrared range. Keck conducts a wide range of core research. In addition, it is today considered one of the most effective ground-based telescopes for the search for exoplanets.
7. Large Canary Telescope (GTC)
We continue to answer the question of where is the largest telescope in the world. This time, curiosity brought us to Spain, to the Canary Islands, and more specifically to the island of La Palma, where the GTC telescope is located. The height of the structure above sea level is 2267 m. The diameter of the main mirror is 10.4 m. It is also an optical reflector. The construction of the telescope was completed in 2009. The opening was attended by Juan Carlos I - King of Spain. The project cost 130 million euros. 90% of the amount allocated by the government of Spain. The remaining 10% was equally divided between Mexico and the University of Florida.
The telescope can observe the starry sky in the optical and mid-infrared range. Thanks to the Osiris and CanariCam instruments, he can carry out polarimetric, spectrometric and coronographic studies of space objects.
6. Observatory "Arecibo"
Unlike the previous ones, this observatory is a radio reflector. The diameter of the main mirror is (attention!) 304.8 meters. This miracle of technology is located in Puerto Rico at an altitude of 497 m above sea level. And this is not the largest telescope in the world. You will find out the name of the leader below.
A giant telescope has repeatedly hit the lens of a movie camera. Remember the final battle between James Bond and his opponent in the Golden Eye? So she passed here. The telescope was captured in Carl Sagan's science fiction film Contact and many other films. The radio telescope also appeared in video games. In particular, in the Rogue Transmission map, Battlefield 4 toys. The clash between the military takes place around a structure that fully imitates Arecibo.
For a long time, it was believed that Arecibo is the largest telescope in the world. Photo of this giant must have seen every second inhabitant of the Earth. It looks rather unusual: a huge plate placed in a natural karst funnel, coated with aluminum and surrounded by a dense jungle. A mobile irradiator is suspended above the plate, which rests on 18 cables. They, in turn, are mounted on three high towers installed along the edges of the plate. Thanks to these dimensions, Arecibo can catch a wide range (wavelength - from 3 cm to 1 m) of electromagnetic radiation.
The radio telescope was put into operation in the 60s. He has been featured in a huge number of studies, one of which has won the Nobel Prize. In the late 90s, the observatory became one of the key tools of the alien life search project.
5. Large Atacama Desert Massif (ALMA)
It's time to consider the most expensive of the existing ground-based telescopes. It is a radio interferometer located in the Atacama Desert (Chile) at an altitude of 5058 m above sea level. The interferometer consists of 66 radio telescopes, which have a diameter of 12 or 7 meters. The project cost $ 1.4 billion. It was funded by America, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Europe and Chile.
ALMA is designed to study millimeter and submillimeter waves. For an apparatus of this kind, the most favorable is an alpine dry climate. Telescopes were delivered in place gradually. The first radio antenna was launched in 2008, and the last in 2013. The main scientific goal of the interferometer is to study the evolution of space, in particular the birth and development of stars.
4. Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
Closer to the southwest, in the same desert as ALMA, at an altitude of 2516 m above sea level, a GMT telescope with a diameter of 25.4 m is being built. By type, it refers to optical reflectors. This is a joint project of America and Australia.
The main mirror will include one central and six curved segments surrounding it. In addition to the reflector, the telescope is equipped with adaptive optics of a new class, which allows to achieve a minimum level of distortion of the atmosphere. As a result, the images will be 10 times more accurate than with the Hubble Space Telescope.
GMT scientific goals: search for exoplanets; exploration of stellar, galactic, and planetary evolution; black hole exploration and more. Work on the construction of the telescope should be completed by 2020.
Thirty Meter Telescope ( TMT). This project is similar in parameters and goals to GMT and Keck telescopes. It will be located on the Hawaiian mountain Mauna Kea, at an altitude of 4050 m above sea level. The diameter of the main mirror of the telescope is 30 meters. The TMT optical reflector uses a mirror divided into many hexagonal parts. Only compared to Keck, the dimensions of the device are three times larger. Construction of the telescope has not yet begun due to problems with the local administration. The fact is that Mount Mauna Kea is sacred to the native Hawaiians. The project cost is 1.3 billion dollars. The investment will be attended mainly by India and China.
3.50-meter spherical telescope (FAST)
Here it is, the largest telescope in the world. On September 25, 2016, an observatory (FAST) was launched in China, created to study space and search for signs of intelligent life in it. The diameter of the device is as much as 500 meters, so it received the status of "The world's largest telescope." China began construction of the observatory in 2011. The project cost the country $ 180 million. Local authorities even promised that they would relocate about 10 thousand people who live in a 5-kilometer zone near the telescope to create ideal conditions for monitoring.
Thus, Arecibo is no longer the largest telescope in the world. China took this title from Puerto Rico.
2. Square Kilometer Array (SKA)
If the design of this radio interferometer is successfully completed, then the SKA observatory will be 50 times the power of the largest of the existing radio telescopes. With its antennas, it will cover an area of about 1 square kilometer. The structure of the project resembles the ALMA telescope, but in size it is significantly superior to the Chilean installation. To date, there are two scenarios: the construction of 30 telescopes with antennas of 200 m or the construction of 150 90-meter telescopes. In any case, as planned by scientists, the observatory will have a length of 3,000 km.
SKA will be located immediately in two countries - South Africa and Australia. The project cost is about $ 2 billion. The amount is divided between 10 countries. By 2020, the completion of the project is planned.
1. Extremely Large European Telescope (E-ELT)
In 2025, an optical telescope will reach full power, which will exceed the TMT by as much as 10 meters and will be located in Chile on the top of Mount Cerro Armazones, at an altitude of 3060 m. It will be the largest optical telescope in the world.
Its main almost 40-meter mirror will include almost 800 moving parts, each one and a half meters in diameter. Thanks to such dimensions and modern adaptive optics, E-ELT will be able to find planets like Earth and study the composition of their atmosphere.
The largest mirror telescope in the world will also study the process of planet formation and other fundamental issues. The project price is about 1 billion euros.
The largest space telescope in the world
Space telescopes do not need such dimensions as terrestrial ones, since due to the absence of atmospheric influence they can show excellent results. Therefore, in this case, it is more correct to say "the most powerful", rather than the "largest" telescope in the world. Hubble is a space telescope that has become famous throughout the world. Its diameter is almost two and a half meters. At the same time, the resolution of the apparatus is ten times greater than if it were on Earth.
Hubble will be replaced in 2018 by the more powerful James Webb telescope. Its diameter will be 6.5 m, and the mirror will consist of several parts. According to the creators, James Webb will be located at the Lagrange point L2, in the constant shadow of the Earth.
Conclusion
Today we met with the top ten largest telescopes in the world. Now you know how gigantic and high-tech designs can be that provide space exploration, as well as how much money is spent on the construction of these telescopes.