Top Telescope 2010
The very largest telescopes are multi-telescope interferometers, and may have longer baselines. However, these astronomical interferometers are less flexible in use, and many interferometers cannot form images or see faint objects despite their high peak angular resolution.
The largest telescope during the first decade of the 21st century could be either the Gran Telescopio Canarias (one 10.4 diameter mirror), the Large Binocular Telescope (two 8.4 diameter mirrors on a binocular mount), or the Very Large Telescope (with four 8.2 m telescopes and four 1.8 m auxiliary telescopes). However, as these were still coming online in the period, the two 10 meter Keck Telescopes (with 85 m aperture synthesis) were possibly the largest in full scientific operation.
Note other wavelengths of telescopes can be much larger physically, such as the 305 m aperture Arecibo radio telescope, but since radio wavelengths are also larger, this does not necessarily translate into brighter or higher resolution images.
| Name | Out | In | aperture (m) | equiv. Area (m) | Area (m²) | Mirrors | Note | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) | 10.4 | 10.4 | 74 m² | 36 x 1.9 m hexagonal segments for M1 | Commissioned 2009; Largest single mirror | 2267 m | ||
| Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) | 11 (max.) | 9.2 | 66–45 m² | 92 x 1 m hexagon; 11 x 9.8 m mirror | HET twin but larger optically. Spherical M1 w/ fixed mirror; spectroscopy (see here ) | 1783 m | ||
| Keck 1 & 2 | 10 m each | 10 m | 76 m2 each | 36 x 1.8 m hexagons M1 mirrors each | largest twin telescopes 152 m² total optical area |
4145 m | ||
| VLT 1,2,3, & 4 | 8.2 m each | 8.2 | 53 m² each |
1 x 8.2 m M1 each | Largest quadruplet telescope 210 m² total optical area |
2635 m | ||
| Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) | 8.4 m each | 11.7 | 111 m² (both sides) | 2 x 8.4 m M1 mirrors; 1 mount | Largest Binocular; largest non-segmented mirrors; 22.8 m aperture planned | 3221 m |
Largest telescopes with interferometer mode, and two image-forming interferometer arrays.
| Name | Longest baseline (m) | Mirrors | Area | Equiv. | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLTI | 200 | 4 x 8.2 m (VLT 1,2,3, & 4) | 210 m² | 16 | Behind schedule in 2010, 4 units at 130 m success in 2012 |
| Keck Interferometer | 85 | 2 x 10 m (Keck 1 & 2) | 152 m² | ||
| LBT (LBTI) | 22.8* | 2 x 8.4 | 110 m² | 11.9 | One telescope mount*; Fizeau & Amplitude Interferometry |
| CHARA array | 330 | 6 x 1 m | 2.45 m² | ||
| NPOI | 437 | 6 siderostats (visible) | Sparse Aperture | Optically resolved Mizar (star) |
*Baseline does not reduce with viewing angle
Read more about this topic: List Of Largest Optical Reflecting Telescopes
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