A New Monster Telescope
The new Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) was completed on July 19, and the "First Light Gala" -- where the first images from the DCT were showcased -- was held at Lowell Observatory on Saturday, July 21.
The huge, 4.3-meter telescope -- at an elevation of 2,370 meters (7,760 feet) atop a cinder cone in Happy Jack, 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona -- is a joint $53 million project between Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications. The telescopic monster took nine years to construct.
Lowell Observatory astronomers will use the DCT to examine some of the most vexing mysteries of the solar system by probing deep into the Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune. They also aim to expand our knowledge of the universe, examining how dwarf galaxies evolve. It will observe the universe in two wavelengths: optical and near infrared.
Credits: Lowell Observatory/DCT
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Discovery Channel's New Telescope
After nine years of construction the telescope is completed...
See the first photos of the new Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) completed in July, 2012 at the Lowell Observatory after nine years of construction.
The huge, 4.3-meter telescope -- at an elevation of 7,760 feet (2,370 meters) atop a cinder cone in Happy Jack, 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona -- is a joint $53 million project between Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications.
Lowell Observatory astronomers will use the DCT to examine some of the most vexing mysteries of the solar system by probing deep into the Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune. They also aim to expand our knowledge of the universe, examining how dwarf galaxies evolve. It will observe the universe in two wavelengths: optical and near infrared.
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