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World's Biggest Telescope in the Works

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

The National Science Foundation has called for construction of a 30-meter-class telescope to study the earliest galaxies of the universe as well as mysterious dark energy that is believed to be responsible for the accelerated spread of space itself.

With eight times the light-collecting power of current observatories and better resolution than the Hubble, a 30-meter telescope also might be able to image planets circling stars beyond our solar system.

"It's going to bring the universe 10 times closer," Faber said.

The twin, 10-meter Keck telescopes in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, are about to be displaced as the largest observatories in the world by the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias at La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands.

The TMT's primary mirror will consist 492 individual 1.45-meter segments that will be constantly adjusted to maintain precise alignment. Advanced adaptive optics are planned to null the effects of wind and atmospheric disturbances.

Related Links:

The Thirty Meter Telescope Homepage

Howstuffworks.com: Telescopes

Irene Klotz's blog: Space Diary