Thirty-meter Telescope (TMT) Project | UPSC

THIRTY-METER TELESCOPE (TMT) PROJECT

OVERVIEW

• A decade ago, international partners from around the world envisioned the largest telescope to be build – the Thirty Meter Telescope.  

• It will provide new observational opportunities in essentially every field of astronomy and astrophysics. 

SOURCES : TMT.ORG

VISION

• The model has been adopted as an inclusive and scientific approach to address some of the world’s most complex scientific and practical problems.

MISSION

• For tens of thousands of years humans have looked upward and tried to find meaning in what they see in the sky.
• The next level of questions that arise require facilities with even greater capabilities to gather the observations needed to answer them.

• Each of the countries is an intellectual partner in the endeavor, as well as bringing technical expertise.
• In some cases, partners have long experience in constructing telescopes and this effort will build on those past successes and lessons.

FOCUS

Astronomers will pursue further advancement of our understanding in several key science areas, including:

• Spectroscopic exploration of the “dark ages” when the first sources of light and the first heavy elements in the universe formed.
• Exploration of galaxies and large-scale structure in the young universe
• Investigations of massive black holes throughout cosmic time

• Discovery observations that push into the terrestrial-planet regime

LOCATION

WHO IS BUILDING TMT?

EXPLORATION

• TMT will be a unique tool for probing many outstanding open questions in astronomy.
• Its adaptive optics and spectroscopic capabilities will allow astronomers to explore the mysterious period in the life of the universe.
• TMT will explore first stars and galaxies were formed, providing information about the nature of “first-light” objects.
• TMT will also observe the formation of the large-scale structures by looking at faint distant galaxies .

• TMT will also play a very important role in advancing our knowledge of  the physical processes that lead to star and planet formation.
• TMT will be able to characterize and study  the properties of exoplanets leading us closer to finding out if life exists beyond the Earth.
• Finally, the advanced capabilities of the TMT will very likely lead to discoveries that we cannot anticipate what we envision today.

OBSERVATORY | SOURCES : TMT.ORG

SIGNIFICANCE

• The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes .
• It will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.

• This will provide unparalleled resolution with TMT images more than 12 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• When operational, TMT will provide new observational opportunities in essentially every field of astronomy and astrophysics.  
• The instrument allows observing in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared.
• This unique instrument will allow astronomers to address fundamental questions in astronomy .
• It will also allow understanding star and planet formation to unraveling the history of galaxies and the development of large-scale structure in the universe.