Giant Magellan Telescope
This new ground-based observatory will be ten times as powerful as Hubble
Words by Andrew May
The Giant Magellan Telescope will study exoplanets like Kepler-62e, seen here in an artist’s concept
© NASA
Artist’s rendering of the Giant Magellan Telescope as it will look when completed
© GMTO
Work is underway on construction of a huge new telescope. When it becomes operational in 2029, it will view the universe with a clarity and sensitivity never seen before. Called the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) after the 16th-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan, it’s a collaboration between a consortium of science institutions from the US, Australia, South Korea and Brazil.
“It will use a revolut ionary new trick called adaptive optics”