William Herschel Telescope

"Herschel Telescope" redirects here. For the far-infrared space telescope, see Herschel Space Observatory. For the telescope used by William Herschel, see 40-foot telescope.
William Herschel Telescope
The William Herschel Telescope building
Alternative namesWHT Edit this at Wikidata
Named afterWilliam Herschel Edit this on Wikidata
Part ofRoque de los Muchachos Observatory Edit this on Wikidata
Location(s)Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Coordinates28°45′38″N 17°52′54″W / 28.76066°N 17.88174°W / 28.76066; -17.88174 Edit this at Wikidata
OrganizationIsaac Newton Group of Telescopes Edit this on Wikidata
Altitude2,344 m (7,690 ft) Edit this at Wikidata
Built1983–1987 (1983–1987) Edit this at Wikidata
First light1 June 1987 Edit this on Wikidata
Telescope stylereflecting telescope Edit this on Wikidata
Diameter4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Secondary diameter1.0 m (3 ft 3 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Collecting area13.8 m2 (149 sq ft) Edit this at Wikidata
Websitewww.ing.iac.es//Astronomy/telescopes/wht/ Edit this at Wikidata
William Herschel Telescope is located in Canary Islands
William Herschel Telescope
Location of William Herschel Telescope
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The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a 4.20-metre (165 in) optical/near-infrared reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The telescope, which is named after William Herschel, the discoverer of the planet Uranus, is part of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes. It is funded by research councils from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain.

At the time of construction in 1987, the WHT was the third largest single optical telescope in the world.[note 1][1][2] It is currently the second largest in Europe,[note 2] and was the last telescope constructed by Grubb Parsons in their 150-year history.

The WHT is equipped with a wide range of instruments operating over the optical and near-infrared regimes. These are used by professional astronomers to conduct a wide range of astronomical research. Astronomers using the telescope discovered the first evidence for a supermassive black hole (Sgr A*) at the centre of the Milky Way, and made the first optical observation of a gamma-ray burst. The telescope has 75% clear nights, with a median seeing of 0.7".[3]


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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference general was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference astro_now was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference weather was invoked but never defined (see the help page).