Eyes on the sky
A roster of new and proposed telescopes
| E-ELT | |
| Full name: | The European Extremely Large Telescope |
| Mirror: | 42 meters diameter |
| Timeline: | Projected to open in 2018 |
| Projected cost: | €1 billion |
| Basic mission: | largest ground-based optical/near-infrared telescope |
| Location: | Possible sites in Chile, Argentina, Canary Islands, Morocco |
| Online: | E-ELT Homepage – ESA |
|
GMT |
|
| Full name: | Giant Magellan Telescope |
| Mirror: | 24.5 m |
| Timeline: | 2018 completion |
| Basic mission: | Next-generation telescope; large collecting area and high image quality |
| Location: | Las Campanas Observatory in Chile |
| Online: | GMT Homepage |
|
TMT |
|
| Full name: | Thirty Meter Telescope |
| Mirror: | 30 m |
| Timeline: | Expected to start operation in 2017 |
| Basic mission: | Great view of early universe; work with the planned James Webb Space Telescope |
| Online: | Thirty Meter Telescope Homepage |
| Pan-STARRS | |
| Full name: | Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System |
| Mirror: | 1.8 |