Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)

The Giant Magellan Telescope

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is the next generation optical/IR telescope, and will have the resolving power of a 24.5-meter primary mirror. It is being developed by a consortium of universities in the USA, along with the Australian National University (ANU) and Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL).

Australia's participation in the GMT at the 10% level is fully funded, with the ANU and AAL both 5% partners. Currently Matthew Colless represents AAL on the GMT board.

In February 2009, the GMT Founders' Agreement was signed by all 9 of the founding partners: AAL, ANU, Carnegie, Harvard, Smithsonian, U.Texas, Texas A&M, U.Arizona, and Korea (which joined the partnership at this point after securing funding for a 10% share in the project).

The GMT Project Office has been launched. The first off-axis 8-metre mirror (one of seven making up the GMT primary mirror) has completed casting, figuring and grinding at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, and will shortly begin the final polishing stage of its manufacture. A highly sophisticated optical testing system is under construction to verify its performance.

The initial call for expressions of interest in GMT first-generation instruments elicited 12 responses, including 3 from Australia. Two Australian proposals (GMTIFS, led by ANU, and MANIFEST, led by AAO) have been selected for the call for proposals for concept studies.