|
1) Keck I & II. Mauna Kea, Hawaii. 10-m, segmented mirrors. Keck I completed 1993, Keck II completed 1996. Owned by Caltech and the UCal system.
|
|
|
2) The Very Large Telescope. Atacama, N. Chile. 4 x 8.2-m, solid mirror telescopes. VLT1 "first light" June 1998, VLT2 June 1999, VLT3 Jan. 2000, VLT4 not on line yet. Owned by European Southern Observatory (Consortium of a dozen countries, and not the U.S.). |
|
|
3) Gemini Telescopes. Northern site, Hawaii, Southern site, N. Chile. Twin 8.1-m telescopes, one in each hemisphere. International consortium of 7 countries, U.S. gets 42% of the time. North saw first light in 1999, South saw first light in 2001. Click HERE for Animation of Gemini Telescope.. |
|
|
4) Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Davis Mtns, West Texas. Segmented spherical, 9.2-m primary (uses a spherical aberration corrector). Kept at constant altitude of 55o, though can view +/-35o with diminished sensitivity. Full azimuth slew. Imaging occurs at prime focus. First light, 1999. Construction cost, just $14 Million. Owned by international consortium (UT, Penn, Stanford, Germany). |