List of largest optical reflecting telescopes#Proposed
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| image3 = MaunaKea Subaru.jpg
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| caption1 = Gran Telescopio Canarias
| caption2 = W. M. Keck Observatory
| caption3 = Subaru Telescope
| caption4 = Hobby–Eberly Telescope
| caption5 = Large Binocular Telescope
| caption6 = Very Large Telescope
| caption7 = Southern African Large Telescope
| caption8 = Gemini Observatory
| caption9 = Gemini Observatory
| header = Telescopes with aperture diameter >8 metres
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This list of the largest optical reflecting telescopes with objective diameters of {{Convert|3.0|m|in}} or greater is sorted by aperture, which is a measure of the light-gathering power and resolution of a reflecting telescope. The mirrors themselves can be larger than the aperture, and some telescopes may use aperture synthesis through interferometry. Telescopes designed to be used as optical astronomical interferometers such as the Keck I and II used together as the Keck Interferometer (up to 85 m) can reach higher resolutions, although at a narrower range of observations. When the two mirrors are on one mount, the combined mirror spacing of the Large Binocular Telescope (22.8 m) allows fuller use of the aperture synthesis.
Largest does not always equate to being the best telescopes, and overall light gathering power of the optical system can be a poor measure of a telescope's performance. Space-based telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, take advantage of being above the Earth's atmosphere to reach higher resolution and greater light gathering through longer exposure times. Location in the northern or southern hemisphere of the Earth can also limit what part of the sky can be observed, and climate conditions at the observatory site affect how often the telescope can be used each year.
The combination of large mirrors, locations selected for stable atmosphere and favorable climate conditions, and active optics and adaptive optics to correct for much of atmospheric turbulence allow the largest Earth based telescopes to reach higher resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope.{{Cite web|last=|title=Neptune from the VLT and Hubble|url=https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1824c/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=www.eso.org|language=en}} Another advantage of Earth based telescopes is the comparatively low cost of upgrading and replacing instruments.
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Table of reflecting telescopes
Telescopes in this list are ordered by effective optical aperture, given as the diameter of a circle with equivalent collecting area. Aperture has historically been a useful gauge of telescopes' limiting resolution, optical area, physical size, and cost. Multiple mirror or segmented mirror telescopes that are on the same mount and usually form a single combined image are ranked by their equivalent combined aperture. Telescopes that cannot use their entire primary mirror at once (e.g. HET or LAMOST) are listed by their maximum effective aperture. Telescopes that are sometimes used for optical interferometry are listed individually, not as a combined instrument. All telescopes with an effective aperture of at least {{convert|3.00|m|in}} at visible or near-infrared wavelengths are included; selected smaller telescopes are listed elsewhere.
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Chronological list of largest telescopes
These telescopes were the largest in the world at the time of their construction, by the same aperture criterion as above.
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|+Reflecting telescopes (chronologically) | ||||||||
Years Largest || Name || Out || In || Aperture (m) || Area (m2) || M1 Mirror || Note || Altitude (m) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009–Present | Gran Telescopio Canarias | 50px | 50px | 10.4 | 74 | 36 × 1.9 m hexagons M1 mirror | Segmented mirror | 2267 |
1993–2009 | Keck 1 | 50px | 40px | 10 | 76 {{cite web|url=http://spacecraftkits.com/KFacts.html |title=Keck Telescope Facts |publisher=Spacecraftkits.com |access-date=2012-01-03}} | 36 × 1.8 m hexagons M1 mirror | Segmented mirror, M1 f/1.75 | 4145 |
1976–1993 | BTA-6 | 50px | 50px | 6 | 26 | 605 cm f/4 M1 mirror | Mirror replaced twice | 2070 |
1948–1976 | Hale (200 inch) | 50px | 50px | 5.1 | – | 508 cm f/3.3 M1 mirror | Art deco dome | 1713 |
1917–1948 | Hooker (100 inch) | 30px | 2.54 | – | Also used for 1st optical interferometer | 1742 | ||
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|colspan=9|For earlier entries, see List of largest optical telescopes historically |
File:Telescopes Size and Year Built.png
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Future telescopes
=Under construction=
File:ELT dome reaches its highest point (Tijerales 2).jpg under construction in April 2025]]
These telescopes are under construction and will meet the list inclusion criteria once completed:
- Extremely Large Telescope, Chile – {{convert|39.3|m|in|sigfig=3|abbr=on}}. Construction began in 2018, first light planned in 2028.{{Cite web |title=Timeline |website=The Extremely Large Telescope |publisher=European Southern Observatory |url=https://elt.eso.org/about/timeline/ |access-date=2023-09-03}}
- Thirty Meter Telescope, Hawaii, USA – {{convert|30|m|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. Construction began in 2014 but halted in 2015; {{as of|lc=yes|2022}} it has not resumed.{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=https://www.tmt.org/page/timeline |publisher=TMT International Observatory |access-date=27 September 2022}}
- Giant Magellan Telescope, Chile – seven 8.4 m mirrors on a single mount. This provides an effective aperture equivalent to a 21.4 m mirror and the resolving power equivalent to a 24.5 m mirror. First light planned in 2029.{{cite web|url=https://www.gmto.org/overview/quick-facts/ |title=Quick Facts |publisher=Gmto.org |access-date=2021-02-15}}
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Chile – {{convert|8.4|m|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. First light planned in 2025.{{cite web |title=Construction Project Status |url=https://www.lsst.org/about/project-status |date=16 October 2022 |access-date=17 October 2022 |work=Rubin Observatory|quote=27-Jan-2025 System First Light with LSSTCam}}
- San Pedro Martir Telescope, Baja California, Mexico – {{convert|6.5|m|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. First light planned in 2023.[https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-sci/2017/11/13/119939-universities-in-us-and-mexico-partner-on-telescope-project/ Universities in U.S. and Mexico Partner on Telescope Project]. Arizona Public Media, 13 November 2017.{{needs update|date=October 2024}}
- Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer, New Mexico, USA – An optical interferometer array with ten {{convert|1.4|m|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} telescopes. The light gathering power is equivalent to a {{convert|4.4|m|in|abbr=on}} single aperture. The first telescope was installed in 2016; construction was paused in 2019 due to insufficient funding{{cite conference|display-authors=3 |last1=Creech-Eakman |first1=Michelle J. |last2=Romero |first2=V. D. |last3=Haniff |first3=Christopher A. |last4=Buscher |first4=David F. |last5=Young |first5=J. S. |last6=Olivares |first6=Andres |last7=Ligon |first7=E. R. |last8=Payne |first8=I. |last9=Avila |first9=Bastian |last10=Blevins |first10=Sterling |last11=Chowdhury |first11=Naseef |last12=Collins |first12=Robert |last13=Dahl |first13=Chuck |last14=Das Roy |first14=Dipanjan |last15=Dooley |first15=J. |last16=Etscorn |first16=Dylan |last17=Etscorn |first17=Shelbi |last18=Farris |first18=Allen |last19=Fisher |first19=Martin |last20=Garcia |first20=Erica |last21=Gabaldon |first21=Mateo |last22=Gino |first22=Colleen |last23=Halder |first23=Ratna |last24=Hosseini |first24=Omid |last25=Jaynes |first25=Brandon |last26=Jencka |first26=Louis |last27=Johnston |first27=Perry |last28=Jojola |first28=Stephen |last29=Luis |first29=James |last30=Maes |first30=Jennie |last31=Martin |first31=William |last32=Matthews |first32=Tyler |last33=McKeen |first33=Cailyn |last34=Mohammadi |first34=Sina |last35=Mortimer |first35=Dan |last36=Norouzi |first36=Siavash |last37=Ochoa |first37=Danielle |last38=Panta |first38=Bhola |last39=Pino |first39=Juan |last40=Salayandia |first40=Isaac |last41=Salcido |first41=Chris |last42=Sanchez |first42=Amanda |last43=Santoro |first43=Fernando |last44=Seneta |first44=E. Bodie |last45=Sun |first45=X. |last46=Wilson |first46=Donald |last47=Wolfram |first47=Jeanette |title=Setting the stage for first fringes with the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer |conference=Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging VII |series=Proceedings of the SPIE |volume=11446 |page=1144609 |date=13 December 2020 |doi=10.1117/12.2563173 |bibcode=2020SPIE11446E..09C |url=https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/11446/2563173/Setting-the-stage-for-first-fringes-with-the-Magdalena-Ridge/10.1117/12.2563173.short |conference-url=https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-SPIE/11446.toc|url-access=subscription }} and has not resumed.
- Timau National Observatory, Indonesia – {{convert|3.8|m|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. Construction expected to be completed by early 2025.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tempo.co/hiburan/observatorium-nasional-timau-di-ntt-segera-beroperasi-begini-potensi-wisatanya-12852|title=Observatorium Nasional Timau di NTT Segera Beroperasi, Begini Potensi Wisatanya|date=2024-09-04|website=tempo.co|language=id-ID|access-date=2025-01-04}}
=Proposed=
File:Comparison of LUVOIR-A and -B primary mirrors with Hubble and JWST.png, James Webb Space Telescope, and the proposed LUVOIR-B and LUVOIR-A.]]
Selected large telescopes which are in detailed design or pre-construction phases:
- Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR), a proposed space telescope for launch in the mid 2030s.
- MUltiplexed Survey Telescope (MUST), a 6.5 m spectroscopic survey telescope.{{cite journal|title= Conceptual design of the optical system of the 6.5m wide field multiplexed survey telescope with excellent image quality|journal=PhotoniX|year=2023|doi=10.1186/s43074-023-00094-4|number=4|page=16|last1=Zhang|first1=Yifan|last2=Jiang|first2=Haijiao|last3=Shectman|first3=Stephen|last4=Yang|first4=Dehua|last5=Cai|first5=Zheng|last6=Shi|first6=Yong|last7=Huang|first7=Song|last8=Lu|first8=Lu|last9=Zheng|first9=Yamin|last10=Kang|first10=Shaonan|last11=Mao|first11=Shude|last12=Huang|first12=Lei|volume=4 |s2cid=258766165 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-2136738/latest.pdf}}
- Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST), an infrared and optical solar telescope, with light-gathering power equivalent to a 5 m diameter aperture.{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Chinese Giant Solar Telescope |url=http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in:8081/~basi/ASICS_2/031-Deng.pdf }}{{cite news |title=China Exclusive: Scientists looking for site for giant solar telescope |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China_Exclusive_Scientists_looking_for_site_for_giant_solar_telescope_999.html |access-date=8 December 2014 |author=Staff |date=29 August 2012 }}
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See also
References
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Further reading
- {{cite journal|bibcode=2004PASP..116...77R|title=The Historical Growth of Telescope Aperture|first=René|last=Racine|journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific|volume=116|issue=815|page=77|year=2004|doi=10.1086/380955|doi-access=free}}
External links
- [http://abell.as.arizona.edu/~hill/list/bigtel99.htm List of large reflecting telescopes]
- [http://astro.nineplanets.org/bigeyes.html The World's Largest Optical Telescopes]
- [http://stjarnhimlen.se/bigtel/LargestTelescope.html Largest optical telescopes of the world]
- [http://www.noao.edu/education/gsmt/intro Selected largest telescopes]
- [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1884SidM....3..193P/0000193.000.html Sidereal Messenger Large refracting telescopes] (date 1884)
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