NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series

Dan Jaffe

University of Texas


First Generation Science at the Giant Magellan Telescope


The Giant Magellan Telescope is a next-generation optical/infrared telescope currently undergoing design and development with a planned begin of science operations in 2019. With its primary mirror consisting of 7- 8.4 meter diameter monolithic segments, it has the collecting area of a 21.4m diameter single mirror telescope and the angular resolution of a 24.5 m telescope. The superior seeing of the planned site at Las Campanas peak in Chile, the simple and stable primary mirror structure, and the planned adaptive optics system will give the GMT superlative optical performance characteristics throughout the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum. The project is being carried out as a collaboration between 10 academic and research institutions in the US and abroad. We will describe the capabilities of the telescope and the six instrument concepts now being considered for early deployment and discuss the main science goals of each of these instruments.






September 24, 2010
11:00 am

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson N525.

Local Host: Mark Claussen