THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Currently under construction in Chile, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is set to begin operations in 2025. Rubin will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), observing the entire visible southern sky every few nights over a decade, capturing 1,000 images of the sky each night. This will give scientists an exciting new view of the universe and its large-scale evolution.

Extremely Large Telescope

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is under construction atop Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert. It will be the world’s largest telescope operating in the visible to infrared wavelength range. The primary mirror of the ELT will be a whopping 39 metres (128 feet) across. Technical first light for the telescope is planned for the end of this decade.

Giant Magellan Telescope

Also under construction in the Atacama Desert is the Giant Magellan Telescope, a 25.4-metre (83.3-foot) telescope that will be based at Las Campanas Observatory. Operating in optical to infrared, the telescope will use seven of Earth’s largest mirrors and a huge light-collection area to obtain information about the chemical composition of exoplanets.

Square Kilometre Array

Under construction in Australia and South Africa and headquartered at

Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK is the Square Kilometre Array. Phase one of the massive radio antenna array will consist of 197 large dish antennae in South Africa and a whopping 31,000 low-frequency wire antennae, similar to large TV antennae, in the desert of Western Australia.