Gran Telescopio CANARIAS inaugurated during IYA2009

22 July 2009

The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) will be inaugurated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on 24 July 2009, by their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain.

The GTC is a 10.4 metre telescope with a segmented primary mirror made from 36 hexagonal segments. It is located in one of the top astronomical sites in the Northern Hemisphere: the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM, La Palma, Canary Islands).

Partners in the project are the Spanish Government (through the Ministry of Science and Innovation) and the Government of the Canary Islands, the Autonomous University of Mexico (IA-UNAM), Mexico's National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) and the University of Florida in the United States. The European Union has also contributed to the project through its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Once in operation the GTC will be a powerful tool for observing the Universe, and scientists will use it to uncover many of the secrets that still await us.

The official GTC website is: http://www.gtc.iac.es/en/

More information about the inauguration is available here: http://www.iac.es/gtcinauguracion/index.php?lang=en

 

Organisational Associates:
ESO AAS INSU CAS STRW NOVA STFC SCNAT SPA NRC MEC CNES DLR ESA JAXA NAOJ APL PS ESF ISRO ICRAN NLSI NOT U Cluster NASAEAS ASI NRAO CEA  KASI EAE SPA AUI CROSCI


The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is endorsed by the United Nations and the International Council of Science.