Once finished, the Giant Magellan Telescope is expected to provide the clearest images of the cosmos ever captured.
And researchers at the University of Arizona have started testing the mounting system for the mirrors that will form the telescope.
Many large telescopes use curved mirrors to gather and focus light from the night sky, and the Giant Magellan will have seven of them. Once assembled, it will be about four times bigger than the James Webb Space Telescope.
Scientists at UA's Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab have started the testing support-system prototype for the mirrors.
Buell Jannuzi with the university’s Steward Observatory says each mirror will be held by 160 actuators that will maintain their shape and precision.
“So you can think of the test cell or the telescope cell made by our colleagues at the GMT project. As the fingers and hands that are going to hold the mirrors in place," Jannuzi said.
The telescope is expected to be operating in the early 2030s.
