203
feet
tall
The height of the Giant
Magellan Telescope
enclosure is 62 meters or
203 feet. That’s as high as
twelve giraffes standing on top
of each other and higher than
the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
20 million eyes
Like our eyes, a telescope’s mirror captures light rays
coming from objects and focuses them to create an
image. The light collecting area of the GMT is equivalent to
20 million eyes looking at the sky.
To focus accurately, a
telescope’s mirrors must
be exceptionally smooth.
If just one of the seven
Giant Magellan Telescope
mirror segments were
expanded to the size of the
continental U.S., the tallest
mountain on that mirror
would be only 1/2 inch high.
1/2-inch
mountains
looking
back
in time
Looking at faraway objects also means looking
back in time. The GMT can help us see the birth
of galaxies and study young stars responsible
for forming the chemical elements.
gmt
supernovae
facts about the giant magellan
telescope
characterizing
exoplanets
gmt
supernovae
The Giant Magellan Telescope
will help us better understand
exoplanets, which are planets
orbiting around other stars.
This helps us examine
atmospheres and identify
conditions supportive of
life on other planets.
Discoveries of the future
start with you. Visit
www.gmto.org and join GMT
on this journey to uncover the
mysteries of the Universe as
an official GMT Supernovae.