X

Welcome to the Thirty Meter Telescope (pictures)

Hawaii has approved a plan to build the world's largest telescope on top of Mauna Kea. Here's a preview.

Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
Tim Hornyak
top_view_of_tmt_complex.jpg
1 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Eye in the sky

Hawaii's Board of Land and Natural Resources has approved a plan by California and Canadian universities to build the world's largest optical telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

With construction costs expected to surpass $1 billion, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), seen here in this artist's impression, will be able to observe planets outside our solar system.

tmt-5.jpg
2 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Big reflector

The TMT will consist of primary, secondary, and tertiary mirrors. This artist's impression shows the relative size of a person, at left.
primary_mirror.jpg
3 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Primary hexagons

The primary mirror will be nearly 30 meters (98 feet) across, and will consist of 492 hexagonal segments arranged into an f/1 hyperboloidal mirror.
newtmtimage1.jpg
4 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Light collector

The primary mirror is designed to will give it nine times the collecting area of the world's largest optical telescopes, and the images are expected be three times sharper.
tertiary_and_primary_mirrors.jpg
5 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Tertiary mirror

This artist's impression shows the tertiary mirror at the center of the TMT's segmented primary mirror.
schematic_of_the_tmt_observatory.png
6 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Schematics

This diagram shows the various tools planned for the TMT. The telescope may be able to view objects some 13 billion light years away.
tmt_sunset.jpg
7 of 7 Courtesy TMT Observatory Corporation

Sunset at the top

An illustration of the TMT at sunset. Already home to about a dozen telescopes, Mauna Kea's summit at 13,796 feet is popular with astronomers because it is above the clouds.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos