People have been staring at the heavens since prehistoric times. They watched the movement of the Sun, Moon and the planets across the sky and measured the positions of the stars. But there was a limit to what could be learned with the naked eye.
In order to avoid becoming ill with altitude sickness, people visiting mountain-top observatories, such as Keck I and Keck II in Hawaii, have to stop and wait halfway up the mountain. This allows their bodies to adapt to the decrease in oxygen in the air.
Optical Telescope
Optical telescopes can obtain images of far-away planets and stars. Other telescopes study the Universe by capturing radio waves. X-rays, and other types of radiation.
Lick Telescope
The James Lick Telescope is an antique refracting telescope built in 1888. It is the third largest example of this type of telescope.
Gram Telescope Canarias
The World's largest single-mirror reflecting telescope is the Gram Telescopio Canarias, built on the peak of an extinct volcano on La Palma. The metal segments are coated with aluminum, which is a good reflector of light. Observations began in 2009.
Largest optical telescope
Diameter of main mirror 10.4m (34.1 ft)
Weight of main mirror 19 tons
Altitude 2.270 m
Location La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
James Webb
James Webb is the largest space telescope. In 2021 or later, the James Webb Space telescope will be launched into space.
Length 22m
Weight 6500kg
Mission length 5-10 years
Location 1.5 million km from Earth
NuStar (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)
Most powerful X-ray observatory. From its observation point above our atmosphere, NuStar gathers X-rays produced by high-energy objects such as collapsing stars and massive black holes.
Length 10.9 m
Weight 171 kg
Launched 2012
Location Earth orbit
Hubble Space Telescope
Famous NASA-ESA observatory. Launched in 1990, the world's most famous space observatory has a 2.4 m mirror. It is named after American astronomer, Edwin Hubble, who showed that the Universe is expanding.
Height 13.3 m
Weight 10,843 kg
Mission Length 31 years
Location Earth orbit
ALMA
66-dish radio telescope. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the world's largest radio telescope array, its 66 dishes work together to gather information about newly forming stars and planets.
Size 66 dishes, 54 with a 12-m diameter, 12 with 7-m diameter
Altitude 5km above sea level
Location Atacama Desert northern Chile
Allen Telescope Array
42 dishes radio telescope. Under construction, this array is planned to contain 350 dishes inside a 1 km wide circle. They will be linked and act as a single dish to study the distant Universe and search for alien life.
Size 42 dishes, each 6.1 m
Location Hat Creek, California, USA
Giant Magellan Telescope
7 mirror optical giant. it will produce images ten times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.
Height Seven 8.4 m
Total moving weight more than 1000 tons.
Location Cerro Las Campanas, Chile
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