In astronomy, the telescope of choice is vital to make the most of any night sky viewing session. After all, the best telescope makes a huge difference in the quality of images seen. But what is the largest telescope in the world? To find the answer to this question, let’s explore the top-ranked largest telescopes currently in operation.
Overview
Throughout history, telescopes have been used to see further into the universe than was previously possible. Today, technology has advanced to the point where the world’s top 12 most powerful telescopes can provide us with incredible insights into the mysteries of the cosmos. These telescopes provide us with breathtaking images, from Jupiter and its moons to distant galaxies and nebulae. This article will offer a brief overview of the world’s top 12 largest optical, radio and X-ray telescopes.
Largest Telescopes In The World
- The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC)
The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is located on La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. It currently holds the record for being the world’s largest single aperture optical/infrared telescope, with a primary mirror measuring 10.4 meters in diameter. It has a total weight of 209 tons and can observe objects as faint as magnitude 30. The telescope was designed and built to capture the highest-resolution images of the night sky and is capable of imaging both visible and infrared light.
- The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET)
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) is located at the McDonald Observatory in Texas, USA. The 11-meter telescope consists of an array of 91 independently controlled segments, which work together to form a single 11-meter mirror. It is the world’s third largest single aperture optical telescope and can image objects as faint as magnitude 24. The telescope has been used for a range of astronomical research, including the study of exoplanets, supernovae, intergalactic distances, and more.
- The South African Large Telescope (SALT)
The South African Large Telescope (SALT), located in Sutherland, South Africa, is the world’s largest single aperture optical and near-infrared telescope. The primary mirror measures 11 meters in diameter, with a total weight of around 200 tons. SALT has been used to observe a variety of astronomical phenomena, including supernovae, exoplanets, and intergalactic distances.
- The Very Large Telescope (VLT)
The Very Large Telescope (VLT), located in the Chilean Atacama Desert, is an array of four 8.2-meter telescopes that can be used together as a single observatory. The telescope is the most advanced visual telescope ever built and has been used to observe some of the furthest galaxies known to humankind. With its array of sensitive detectors, the VLT is also capable of imaging objects as faint as 23rd magnitude.
- The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is expected to be the world’s largest single aperture optical telescope when it is completed in 2025. Located at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, it will have seven 8.4-meter primary mirrors, which will be combined into a single monolithic array. The telescope will have a total weight of over 500 tons and be capable of imaging objects as faint as 28th magnitude.
- The Submillimeter Array (SMA)
The Submillimeter Array (SMA) is located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, USA. It consists of eight 6-meter dishes and is the world’s most powerful radio telescope for submillimeter-wavelength observation. The telescope can provide us with unprecedented detail about the innermost regions of star formation, galactic nuclei, and circumstellar dust disks.
- The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), located in the Chilean Atacama Desert, is the world’s largest and most advanced millimeter-wavelength radio telescope. It consists of 66 large dishes arranged in an array and can provide us with detailed images of star formation regions, molecular clouds, and other high-redshift galaxies.
- The Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST)
The Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the world’s largest single aperture radio telescope, located in China’s Guizhou Province. The telescope consists of a large 500-meter spherical reflector dish, which is capable of imaging objects as faint as magnitude 31. It has been used to observe pulsars and to search for extraterrestrial life.
- The Tianwen 1 Orbiter (Tianwen 1)
The Tianwen 1 Orbiter is an unmanned robotic spacecraft launched by China in July 2020. It is the world’s largest and most powerful X-Ray telescope in space and can observe X-ray sources with magnitudes as faint as 30. Tianwen 1 is equipped with multiple instruments and cameras, which are used for imaging and spectroscopic studies of the universe’s X-ray sources.
- The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO)
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) is a space-based X-ray observatory. Launched in 1999, it is the world’s largest X-ray telescope in operation and is capable of imaging X-ray sources as faint as 34th magnitude. CXO can image objects with a resolution that is 10 times better than any previous X-ray telescope, and has been used to observe gamma-ray bursts, supermassive black holes, and other astronomical phenomena.
- The Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the world’s most powerful orbiting telescope. It was launched in 1990 and has since revolutionized the field of astronomy by providing us with some of the most detailed images of deep space ever taken. The telescope has a maximum theoretical resolution of 0.02 arcseconds, which is more than 30 times sharper than the resolution of the human eye.
- The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared space telescope that is due to be launched in 2021. It will be the world’s most powerful and largest infrared space telescope and will be located 1.5 million km away from the Earth. The telescope has a 6.5-meter primary mirror and will be capable of imaging faint objects, such as the first stars and galaxies formed in the universe.
The top 12 largest and most powerful telescopes in the world are capable of providing us with incredible insights into the mysteries of the cosmos. From the Giant Magellan Telescope, which has a breathtaking array of seven 8.4-meter primary mirrors, to the Hubble Space Telescope and its ability to obtain incredibly detailed images of deep space, these telescopes continue to push the boundaries of exploration and scientific discovery, revealing new truths about the universe.
