Hawaii to host world's biggest telescope

by Stevie Smith - Jul 22 2009, 15:30

Having already hit the headlines this week after its observatory captured infrared snaps of Jupiter’s newest scar, the Mauna Kea mountaintop on the Pacific island of Hawaii has been selected to be the home of the world’s biggest telescope.

The new telescope, once constructed, will give stargazing scientists the ability to view objects at a distance of some 13 billion light years, reports AP, while also allowing them to steal a glimpse into the very origins of the universe.

The telescope’s massive mirror will be around 30 metres (approx. 100 feet) in diameter and will be large enough to hopefully allow astronomers to gather enough light to view the formation of the universe’s first stars and galaxies – even though such events took place some 400 million years after the Big Bang.

Scheduled for completion in the year 2018, the telescope will be situated on the summit of a dormant volcano that rises above the clouds at a height of almost 14,000 feet, providing astronomers with a great view of the night sky largely without interference from weather conditions or the levels of light pollution found in highly populated areas.

However, the groundbreaking telescope, which is to be constructed by the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy, won’t be the leading light for long as a rival construction is also planned for completion in 2018.

Specifically, the European Extremely Large Telescope (EELT) and its mammoth 42-metre mirror is expected to go online in the same year as the Mauna Kea giant, with possible destinations in Argentina, Chile, Morocco and Spain all being considered.

The Tech Herald: Jupiter left with Earth-sized scar after comet strike

 

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