The highest observatory in the world just opened in Chile

[Judi Lynn]

The highest observatory in the world just opened in Chile



The Tokyo Atacama Observatory.
Image: University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory has been in the works for 26 years.
By Wes Davis, a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020.

May 2, 2024, 11:40 AM CDT

The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) officially opened on Tuesday after 26 years of planning and construction. Sitting 18,500 feet high on Mount Chajnantor in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the 6.5-meter optical-infrared TAO telescope is now the highest in the world.

TAO replaces a smaller version of itself called MiniTAO, which held the highest telescope distinction before it. It beats the Chacaltaya Observatory, owned by the University of Madrid and sitting 17,191 feet on Mount Chacaltaya in Bolivia.

The next three record holders in the top five are also in Chile’s Atacama desert: the James Ax Observatory (17,100 feet); the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (17,030 feet); and the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory (sources vary; about 16,700 feet). Many of the world’s major observatories are built in the high-altitude, northeastern area of Chile, near Bolivia, because of its clear skies. The country’s tax exemptions for such projects help, too.

Being so high up means far less moisture in the air; TAO can observe “almost the entire range of near-infrared wavelengths,” including mid-infrared. No other earthbound telescope can do that, Phys.org notes. The University of Tokyo writes that such terrestrial observatories are capable of taking higher-resolution shots of space, thanks to their larger apertures, than their space-based counterparts. The telescope will be used to learn about “the birth of galaxies and the origin of planets” starting in 2025, according to the University of Tokyo’s announcement.

More:
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/2/24146743/university-of-tokyo-atacama-observatory-telescope-highest-altitude-infrared

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The highest observatory on Earth sits atop Chile's Andes Mountains — and it's finally open

By Sharmila Kuthunur published 3 days ago

"The better astronomical observations of the real thing can be, the more accurately we can reproduce what we see with our experiments on Earth."



a round white building on top of a mountain in the desert
The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) at the summit of Cerro Chajnantor. (Image credit: TAO project)
A new telescope billed as the world's highest astronomical site is officially open for business.

The Japanese University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, or TAO, which was first conceptualized 26 years ago to study the evolution of galaxies and exoplanets, is perched on top of a tall mountain in the Chilean Andes at 5,640 meters (18,500 feet) above sea level. The facility's altitude surpasses even the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, which is at an elevation of 5,050 meters (16,570 feet).

TAO is located on the summit of Atacama's Cerro Chajnantor mountain, whose name means "place of departure" in the now-extinct Kunza language of the indigenous Likan Antai community. The region's high altitude, sparse atmosphere and perennially arid climate is deadly to humans, but makes an excellent spot for infrared telescopes like TAO as their observational accuracies rely on low moisture levels, which render Earth's atmosphere transparent in infrared wavelengths.

Constructing the telescope on the summit of Mt. Chajnantor "was an incredible challenge, not just technically, but politically too," Yuzuru Yoshii, a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan who spearheaded TAO since 1998, said in a statement. "I have liaised with Indigenous peoples to ensure their rights and views are considered, the Chilean government to secure permission, local universities for technical collaboration, and even the Chilean Health Ministry to make sure people can work at that altitude in a safe manner."

More:
https://www.space.com/worlds-highest-observatory-tao-university-of-tokyo-atacama-opens

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Amazing ... a SIX-AND-A-HALF METER telescope is built, and it scarcely causes a ripple in the news.

The Hale 200", for decades the most powerful (and most famous) telescope in the world, is "only" 5.1 m and was the result of a Herculean effort spanning decades. The Soviet 236" was a nice round 6.0 m (by design, to trump the Hale telescope) and was the largest in the world for decades (but was hamstrung from the beginning by poor siting). Now they're popping out giant telescopes like fresh eggs.