Astronomy

The world largest optical reflecting telescopes had received its first sight to universe. The telescope, known as Gran Telescopio Canarias (“Great Telescope Canary Islands”, GTC) located in Canary Islands, Spain, has begun the initial observation last Friday (July, 13). In ceremonial observation, attended by 300 people, including Price Felipe from Spain, the telescope pointed to Polaris, the Northern Star.

Situated on a 2,400m-high (7,900ft) peak on the island of La Palma, the huge telescope consists of 36 separate hexagonal mirror segments which together form the 10.4m (34.1ft) primary mirror. To date, only 12 of 36 lenses which have been attached. The rest of it will be attached on this year. GTC team expects the telescope to be fully operational within 12 months.

GTC Dome on 2006 (Picture credits: Wikipedia)

The telescope is extremely powerful and will be able to spot some of the faintest, most distant objects in the Universe. Its vast size will enable it to capture some of the most distant light in the Universe, helping researchers look for information that might help to explain the evolution of the cosmos. It will probe far-off galaxies, look into the secrets of star formation, and hunt for Earth-like planets.

The GTC Project is a partnership formed by several institutions from Spain (90%), Mexico (5%) and the University of Florida (USA) (5%) with an initiative from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). The construction of the telescope is estimated to have cost €130 million and takes seven years to complete.

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