Comparison To Contemporaries
Dedicated infrared telescopes require a high and dry location, special instrumentation, and similar high-quality mirrors and optics as for visible wavelength observations. Other large optical infrared and near-infrared telescopes circa 1980:
| # | Name(s) / Observatory |
Image | Aperture | Spectrum | Altitude | First Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Joint Astronomy Centre |
380 cm (150 in) | Infrared | 4,205 m (13,796 ft) | 1979 | |
| 2 | ESO 3.6 m Telescope ESO La Silla Obs. |
357 cm (141 in) | Visible Infrared |
2,400 m (7,874 ft) | 1977 | |
| 3 | NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Mauna Kea Observatory |
300 cm (118 in) | Infrared | 4,205 m (13,796 ft) | 1979 |
There have been two other smaller near-infrared telescopes: the 150 cm (59 in) Gornergrat Infrared Telescope in the Swiss Alps, and the 160 cm (63 in) telescope at the Mont Mégantic Observatory in Canada.
Read more about this topic: NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
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