Astronomy Still Hot in Chile

摘要

It's official: The first of a new generation of monster telescopes will be built in Chile. Sporting seven 8.4-meter mirrors, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will have the light-gathering power of a single 22-meter behemoth. Last week, the GMT consortium—eight American institutes and universities plus one Australian—selected Cerro Las Campanas in northern Chile as the future site for the record-shattering instrument, due to be completed in 2016. The mountaintop, at 2300 meter altitude, is already home to the twin 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes.