Building the World’s Largest Telescope

Underneath the University of Arizona’s football stadium are the beginnings of the Giant Magellan Telescope, set to be the largest optical telescope in the world. The Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory is the only place equipped to manufacture gigantic 27-foot tall mirrors, the kind needed to build the heart of the Magellan. Each of the seven mirrors that will comprise the telescope weigh in at 17-tons and will produce images with 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope, giving scientists an unprecedented look into the fringes of our universe.

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