Magellan Telescopes

Magellan Telescopes
Alternative namesWalter Baade Magellan 6.5-m telescope (LCO) Edit this at Wikidata
Named afterWalter Baade, Landon T. Clay Edit this on Wikidata
Part ofLas Campanas Observatory Edit this on Wikidata
Location(s)Atacama Region, Chile
Coordinates29°00′54″S 70°41′30″W / 29.015°S 70.6917°W / -29.015; -70.6917 Edit this at Wikidata
OrganizationCarnegie Institution for Science Edit this on Wikidata
Altitude2,516, 2,392 m (8,255, 7,848 ft) Edit this at Wikidata
First light15 September 2001, 7 September 2002 Edit this on Wikidata
Telescope styleGregorian telescope
optical telescope Edit this on Wikidata
Number of telescopesEdit this on Wikidata
Diameter6.5 m (21 ft 4 in) Edit this at Wikidata
Magellan Telescopes is located in Chile
Magellan Telescopes
Location of Magellan Telescopes
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The Magellan Telescopes are a pair of 6.5-metre-diameter (21 ft) optical telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The two telescopes are named after the astronomer Walter Baade and the philanthropist Landon T. Clay. First light for the telescopes was on September 15, 2000 for the Baade, and September 7, 2002 for the Clay. A consortium consisting of the Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Arizona, Harvard University, the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology built and operate the twin telescopes. The telescopes were named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is an extremely large telescope under construction, as part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program.[1]

  1. ^ Harvard & Smithsonian (6 February 2022). "Mission Critical: Giant Magellan Telescope Ranked a National Priority". SciTechDaily. Retrieved 7 February 2022.