The Magellan Telescopes are a pair of optical

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s located at

Las Campanas Observatory Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) is an astronomy, astronomical observatory managed by the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS). Located in Chile's Atacama Region, it sits about northeast of the city of La Serena, Chile, La Serena. The LCO's telesc ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The two telescopes are named after the astronomer

Walter Baade Wilhelm Heinrich Walter Baade (March 24, 1893 – June 25, 1960) was a German astronomer who worked in the United States from 1931 to 1959. Early life and education Baade was born the son of a teacher in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He fin ...

and the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Landon T. Clay. First light for the telescopes was on September 15, 2000 for the Baade, and September 7, 2002 for the Clay. A consortium consisting of the

Carnegie Institution for Science The Carnegie Institution for Science, also known as Carnegie Science and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization established to fund and perform scientific research in the United States. This institution is headquartered in W ...

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

built and operate the twin telescopes. The telescopes were named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

. The

Giant Magellan Telescope The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a ground-based, extremely large telescope currently under construction at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert. With a primary mirror diameter of 25.4 meters, it is expected to be the largest G ...

(GMT) is an

extremely large telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory under construction. When completed, it will be the world's largest optical and near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) agency, ...

under construction, as part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program.

Current instruments on the Magellan Telescopes

Baade telescope: * Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) * FourStar * Folded port InfraRed Echellette (FIRE) * Magellan Echellete (MagE) Clay telescope: * Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) spectrograph * Low-Dispersion Survey Spectrograph-3 (LDSS-3) * Megacam imager * MagAO-X * Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS)

Magellan Planet Search Program

This program is a survey of stars searching for planets using the MIKE echelle spectrograph mounted on the 6.5 m Magellan II (Clay) telescope.

MagAO Adaptive Optics System

In 2013, Clay (Magellan II) was equipped with an adaptive secondary mirror called MagAO which allowed it to take the sharpest visible-light images to date, capable of resolving objects 0.02 arcseconds across—equivalent to a dime (1.8 cm) seen from away. MagAO was originally intended for the

Large Binocular Telescope The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is an optical telescope for astronomy located on Mount Graham, in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, United States. It is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory. When using both ...

(LBT), but the secondary mirror was damaged before it could be installed. The project leader Laird Close and his team were able to repair and repurpose the broken mirror for use on Magellan II. As built for the LBT, the original MagAO mirror had a diameter of . However, the edge of the mirror was broken. Technicians at

Steward Observatory Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were ...

were able to cut the mirror to in diameter, thereby removing the broken edge.

Gallery

File:Magscope.jpg, Part of Las Campanas Observatory after snowfall, with the Magellan telescopes at the right. File:Magellan telescopes.jpg, Telescopes at night

References

External links