Giant Magellan Telescope

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a ground-based optical and infrared observatory under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Its segmented primary mirror is 25.4 meters across.

Segmented mirror: A large optical surface assembled from separate mirror pieces that act together as one. Seven primary mirror segments combine to form the telescope’s 25.4-meter light-collecting surface.
Giant Magellan Telescope instruments: The optical and infrared instruments planned to collect and analyze light at the Giant Magellan Telescope. These instruments turn the observatory’s large mirror and sharp images into measurements of astronomical objects.
Extremely Large Telescope: A European Southern Observatory optical and infrared telescope under construction in Chile, with a 39-meter primary mirror. It is a larger, single-aperture ground-based project planned for a nearby Chilean site.
Las Campanas Observatory: An astronomical observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science. The Giant Magellan Telescope is being built at this observatory.
Adaptive optics: Techniques that correct image distortion in real time, often by adjusting a deformable mirror. The telescope will use adaptive optics to counter atmospheric turbulence and sharpen images.
Exoplanet: A planet that orbits a star beyond the Solar System. High-resolution spectroscopy could help characterize the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets.
Thirty Meter Telescope: A planned ground-based observatory with a 30-meter segmented primary mirror, proposed for Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It is another segmented-mirror observatory competing to deliver extremely high-resolution astronomy.
Giant Magellan Telescope Organization: The consortium of institutions that leads the Giant Magellan Telescope project. This organization coordinates the project’s design, construction, and participating institutions.
Active optics: Systems that adjust a telescope’s mirrors to maintain their intended shape and alignment. Active control keeps the large primary mirror segments aligned as the telescope moves.
Galaxy formation and evolution: The processes by which galaxies form, grow, and change over cosmic time. The telescope’s light-gathering power is intended to probe faint, distant galaxies.

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