Australia to play a key role in Giant Magellan Telescope »

The Giant Magellan Telescope will help astronomers unlock secrets of the Universe and will herald a new era of discoveries. Australian scientists and industry will play a key role in an international collaboration to build the world's most powerful optical telescope after the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) passed a major construction milestone. The 11 international partners, including ANU and Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL), have approved construction of the GMT, unlocking more than US$500 million to start building the first new generation extremely large telescope in Chile. When fully operating, the GMT will look further out into space and back in time than any telescope ever built, and will produce images 10 times sharper than those from the Hubble space telescope. "The Giant Magellan Telescope will provide astronomers and astrophysicists with the opportunity to truly transform our view of the universe and our place within it," said Professor Matthew Colless, Director of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) and Vice Chair of the GMT Organization Board. The ANU and AAL will have a 10 percent share of the US$1 billion project. That will ensure Australian astronomers and scientists will be able to use the GMT and remain at the forefront of astronomy and astrophysics research.