SPACE — The world’s largest telescopes are often the most successful in making new discoveries in space. Large telescopes are usually capable of collecting much more light and delving into the history of the universe from impressive distances.
Although space observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are closer to that goal, ground-based telescopes can achieve larger dimensions.
Ground-based telescopes are also more flexible in terms of weight. When telescopes on Earth are built in good locations, with a wide view of the sky, they can focus on different areas or specific events. This is different from a space telescope which needs to be in the right place at the right time.
Some of the largest telescopes serve as Earth’s eyes to explore supernovae, galaxies and other distant objects. Here are the five largest telescopes in operation and in development today.
Teleskop Spherical Aperture 500 Meter (FAST)
Lokasi: Guizhou, China
Type: Radio
Diameter: 500 meter
FAST opened in 2020 and is currently the largest single shell telescope in the world.
Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)
Location: Atacama Desert, Chile
Type: Optical-infrared
Diameter: 39.3 meter
Designed by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is scheduled for completion in 2027.
This telescope aims to find Earth-like planets and search for life outside the Solar System.
Due to its significant mirror surface area of 978 square meters, the ELT will be able to collect 100 million times more light than the human eye.
This telescope will be packaged in a giant rotating dome 80 meters high. It weighs about 6,000 tons. The solid foundations for this telescope will be completed in early 2022.
Square Kilometer Array (SKA)
Location: Australia and South Africa
Type: Phased array, radio
Diameter: 512 x 15 meter
While the individual size of each of these telescopes is not as large as some of the previous entries, the anticipated scale of construction is much larger. Chosen for their extreme remoteness, the Karoo region in South Africa and the Murchison Shire in Western Australia will host a series of massive radio telescopes.
In Australia, which is home to the largest site, it will be equipped with 512 telescope stations, while 200 will be in South Africa.
Scientists estimate the result of this project will be a telescope array that is 100 times more sensitive and sky survey times that are about a million times faster. The targeted completion date is 2028. It is estimated that the array will be used for about five decades.
2024-03-07 02:06:00
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