Write your abstract here. PART I - Giant Magellan
Telescope to Open a New Window on the Universe.
The Giant Magellan
Telescope which will see first light in 2016, will
dramatically expand the horizon of the defining event in modern
astronomy, the discovery of the Universe beyond the Milky Way, and open
a path to fundamental discoveries about the birth of stars and
planetary systems, the mysteries of black holes and the genesis of
galaxies. Slated for completion at Carnegie''s famed Las Campanas Observatory
high in
Chile''s Atacama Desert, the GMT will have 10 times the resolution of
the Hubble Space
Telescope enabling a variety of new projects and observations. The
83-foot giant 25.4-meter telescope is as wide as an eight-story
building is tall.
In the era of satellite
telescopes like the Hubble, "ground-based
telescopes can be much bigger, which is important because a telescope''s
light-gathering power is proportional to the square of its diameter,"
according to Paul Schechter, the William A. M. Burden Professor of
Astrophysics, who leads the MIT group that is part of the eight-member
consortium developing the GMT. "The Hubble is only 2.4 meters in
diameter, and the next-generation
space telescope, which ought to be finished at about the same time as
the GMT, will be smaller than the present Magellan telescopes." A top priority task for the GMT be the direct observation of
exo-planets around nearby stars and observation of objects yet younger
(and therefore more distant) than the youngest objects observable
today. In the last thirty years we have begun to understand how stars and
their planetary systems form. More than 240 planets have recently been
detected in orbit around other stars. We are driven to know whether
solar systems like our own are common among the billions of stellar
systems that comprise our Milky Way galaxy or if we are truly the lonely hearts of the cosmos. The discovery of extrasolar planetary systems very unlike our own
upset many preconceptions and left numerous unanswered questions
regarding their formation. How, where, and when are planets born in the
disks that encircle young stars? How common are gas giant (i.e.
Jupiter-like) planets? Are giant planets helpful or harmful to the
emergence of life-sustaining worlds? Are Earth-like terrestrial planets
rare or common and how do they obtain the materials necessary for life ? These questions are best addressed by a telescope with the power to
detect light from very faint objects, the ability to distinguish fine
detail despite the blurring effect of the Earth''s atmosphere and
sensitivity to infrared heat radiation from forming stars and planets.
The GMT, with its large collecting area and exquisite image quality,
meets the demanding requirements of extrasolar planetary studies.
The new telescope will be composed of seven, 8.4-meter primary
mirrors arranged in a floral pattern. It builds on the successful
heritage of the two 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes, the first of which
began science operations in early 2001. "The same individuals involved
in the building of Magellan constitute the core of the GMT design
group," Schechter said.The twin 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes located at Carnegie''s Las
Campanas Observatory are widely considered to be the best natural
imaging telescopes in the world. They were built and continue to be
operated by a consortium consisting of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Harvard University, MIT, the University of Michigan, and
the University of Arizona. First light for the Walter Baade telescope
occurred on September 15, 2000. The Landon Clay telescope started
science operations on September 7, 2002. The discovery of extrasolar planetary systems very unlike our own
upset many preconceptions and left numerous unanswered questions
regardingmation. How, where, and when are planets born in the
disks that encircle young stars? How common are gas giant (Jupiter-like) planets? Are giant planets helpful or harmful to the
emergence of life-sustaining worlds? Are Earth-like terrestrial planets
rare or common and how do they obtain the materials necessary for life ? Because of limited space, please read continuation in PART II - Giant Magellan Telescope to Open a New Window on the Universe.