The Giant Magellan Telescope’s enclosure, set to be one of the world’s largest astronomical facilities, was approved for construction in Chile, UT announced in a June 13 press release.

The Giant Magellan, one of the most powerful telescopes in the world, uses seven mirrors to see deep into space, according to the press release. Daniel Jaffe, the vice president of research in the Department of Astronomy, said the collaboration started about 20 years ago when the telescope was in conceptual design. 

“(The University) was one of the founding partners of the Giant Magellan Telescope Observatory, which is a consortium of universities and research institutions in the United States and a number of other countries to build one of the giant telescopes of the next generation for ground-based astronomy,” Jaffe said. 

IDOM, an engineering and architecture firm, designed the enclosure to meet the telescope’s specific needs. Project Director Armando Bilbao Arechabala said this included designing everything from cooling and electrical installations to the telescope’s supports — a massive concrete pier and seismic isolation system to protect the facility from earthquakes. 

“(The enclosure) has two large opening shutters, kind of like two big doors,” Bilbao Arechabala said. “These doors open at night so that the inner telescope can observe the stars, and these shutters close during the day because you need to keep inside the temperature you (would expect) when you open the telescope at night.” 

Bilbao Arechabala also said the enclosure must be mounted on wheels for the building to turn, allowing the doors to face in the same direction as the telescope at all times. According to the press release, the enclosure will be able to complete a full rotation in about four minutes. 

A UT team is building one of the four instruments that will be used on the telescope in partnership with a group in Korea, Jaffe said. Students will be able to use the telescope just as they use the ones on campus. 

“Astronomy students, both graduates and undergraduates, will be involved in research together with the faculty and research scientists in the Department of Astronomy and McDonald’s Observatory in using the telescope,” Jaffe said. “The telescope will conduct both specialized observations with short programs and big surveys of important types of objects.” 

Jaffe said the telescope and enclosure should be fully operational by the early 2030s. He said although it’s taken a lot of effort, the University is excited to be a part of it. 

(The Giant Magellan) should serve as an inspiration,” Jaffe said. “The kind of images that come from it and the information that we learn from studying the universe with a unique and capable instrument will be something that we hope inspires people to think of UT as a place where the cutting-edge science is happening. (This) may be an attractant for new groups of STEM undergraduates and graduate students.”