Facts
US-ELTP
2 telescopes
One System
4x
Sharper than the largest space telescope
Up to 200x
More sensitive than today’s largest telescopes
4
Key science themes
5 petabytes/yr
Annual amount of data collected in US-ELTP science archive
Giant Magellan Telescope
Gregorian
Type of telescope design
25.4 meters
Diameter of primary light-collecting surface
7
Number of round primary mirror segments
8.4 meters
Diameter of each primary mirror segment
368 square meters
Light-collecting area
320–25,000 nanometers
Wavelength range from near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared
⅓-degree
Diameter of the field of view
65 meters
Height of enclosure
2100 tons
Weight of telescope
2514 meters
Altitude of site at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile
4
Number of first-generation instruments
Thirty Meter Telescope
Ritchey-Chrétien
Type of telescope design
30 meters
Diameter of primary light-collecting surface
492
Number of hexagonal primary mirror segments
1.44 meters
Diameter (long diagonal) of each primary mirror segment
655 square meters
Light-collecting area
310–30,000 nanometers
Wavelength range from near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared
⅓-degree
Diameter of the field of view
56 meters
Height of enclosure
2650 tons
Weight of telescope
4012 meters
Altitude of preferred site on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi
3
Number of first-generation instruments
NOIRLab
4
Observatory summits
Open Skies
Scientists from all over the world may apply for observing time
1000
Proposals for telescope time processed per year (10x more expected for the US-ELTP)
5+ decades
User support experience at national observatories
