The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), a significant ground-based telescope under construction in Chile's Atacama Desert, has reached an important milestone. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has confirmed that the observatory will move to its Major Facilities Design Phase, bringing it closer to eligibility for federal construction funding.
Northwestern University, a founding partner of the GMT since December, celebrates this development as it highlights the project's scientific merit and alignment with U.S. science and technology priorities. Vicky Kalogera from Northwestern remarked on the global commitment to advancing discovery through this initiative.
Kalogera is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She also leads the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF-Simons Foundation AI Institute for the Sky.
Set to launch in the 2030s, GMT aims to be the world's most powerful optical telescope, producing images ten times clearer than those from Hubble Space Telescope. It will explore distant universes with adaptive optics correcting atmospheric blur.
Northwestern's contribution includes expertise in astrophysics, artificial intelligence (AI), and engineering. Their scientists will develop AI tools enhancing GMT's search capabilities for Earth-like planets and exploring cosmic phenomena.
The project is backed by nearly $1 billion in private funding from an international consortium of 15 universities and research institutions including Northwestern, University of Arizona, Carnegie Institution for Science, The University of Texas at Austin among others.
Currently, about 40% of GMT is under construction with components manufactured across 36 U.S. states. In Chile, infrastructure progress includes utilities, roads, support structures and a fully excavated foundation.
Vicky Kalogera expressed pride in contributing to this vision that seeks answers to some of astronomy's biggest questions while inspiring future scientists and engineers.