Sep

Major NSF grant announced for the GMT project

17 September 2020

A render of the future GMT at night. Credit: GMTO Corporation/M3 Engineering.
A render of the future GMT at night. Credit: GMTO Corporation/Mason Media Inc.
With of seven of the world’s largest mirrors ever constructed, the future GMT will provide ten times better resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credit: GMTO Corporation/M3 Engineering.

A major NSF grant accelerates development for one of the world’s most powerful telescopes. The Giant Magellan Telescope is currently being constructed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. With seven of the world’s largest mirrors ever constructed, each at 8.4 meters in diameter, the GMT will provide ten times better resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope.

AAL is delighted by the recent announcement of a US $17.5M grant, awarded to the GMTO Corporation by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The GMTO Corporation is the organisation responsible for the development and operation of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project, currently under construction at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

When complete, the GMT will be one of three next-generation extremely large optical telescopes, with Australia being approximately a 10% partner in the telescope. The GMT is designed to have a resolving power ten times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope, and will help to expand our knowledge of the universe.

The GMTO has 12 founder institutions, including AAL and the Australian National University (ANU). For more information on the GMT project, see this link. For more on AAL’s role as a founding partner, please contact AAL’s CEO Mark McAuley, or AAL’s Chief Business Officer, Mita Brierley.