Space is cool. Space is infinitely vast. But we’ve barely stuck a pinky into the vastness of space, visually. The Hubble space telescope was a major step forward for humanity, allowing for some incredible peering into the past, at galaxies and nebulas and quasars and all manner of amazingness. Now comes the next giant in space telescope exploration, the Thirty Meter Telescope, also known as the TMT. To be built on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, deep in the Pacific, the TMT is, as titled, thirty meters across, 14 stories tall, creating by far the largest mirror on the planet. This giant contraption will allow for up to six times the optical power of Hubble, even though its on earth, and not in the blackness of space. It should be astounding what the Thirty Meter Telescope can see, when it is operational in 2020.
A photo from Hubble. What will the Thirty Meter Telescope show us?
TMT Overview from Thirty Meter Telescope on Vimeo.