Víctor M. Blanco Telescope

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope
Organisation NOAO
Location(s) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile
Coordinates 30°10′10.78″S 70°48′23.49″W / 30.1696611°S 70.8065250°W / -30.1696611; -70.8065250Coordinates: 30°10′10.78″S 70°48′23.49″W / 30.1696611°S 70.8065250°W / -30.1696611; -70.8065250
Altitude 2,207 m (7,241 ft)
Wavelength optical
Built 1974, completed 1976[1]
Telescope style reflector
Diameter 4.0 m
Collecting area 10.014 m2
Mounting equatorial, Ritchey-Chrétien
Enclosure spherical
Website www.ctio.noao.edu/telescopes/4m/4m.html

The Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as the Blanco 4m, is a 4-metre aperture telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Commissioned in 1974 and completed in 1976, this telescope is similar to the Mayall 4m telescope located on Kitt Peak.[2][3][4] In 1995 it was dedicated and named in honour of Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco.[5] It was the largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere from 1976 until 1998, when the first 8-metre telescope of the ESO Very Large Telescope opened.

Currently the main research instrument used at the telescope is the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), the camera used in the Dark Energy Survey. DECam saw its first light in September 2012.[6][7]

Largest optical astronomical telescopes in 1976
# Name /
Observatory
Image Aperture M1
Area
Altitude First
Light
Special advocate
1. BTA-6
(Special Astrophysical Obs)
238 inch
605 cm
26 m2 2,070 m (6,790 ft) 1975 Mstislav Keldysh
2. Hale Telescope
(Palomar Observatory)
200 inch
508 cm
20 m2 1,713 m (5,620 ft) 1949 George Ellery Hale
3. Mayall Telescope
(Kitt Peak National Obs.)
158 inch
401 cm
10 m2 2,120 m (6,960 ft) 1973 Nicholas Mayall
4. Víctor M. Blanco Telescope
(CTIO Observatory)
158 inch
401 cm
10 m2 2,200 m (7,200 ft) 1976 Nicholas Mayall
5. Anglo-Australian Telescope
(Siding Spring Observatory)
153 inch
389 cm
12 m2 1,742 m (5,715 ft) 1974 Prince Charles
6. ESO 3.6 m Telescope
(La Silla Observatory)
140 inch
357 cm
8.8 m2 2,400 m (7,900 ft) 1976 Adriaan Blaauw
7. Shane Telescope
(Lick Observatory)
120 inch
305 cm
~7 m2 1,283 m (4,209 ft) 1959 Nicholas Mayall

See also

References

  1. Great Telescopes. (2003). In Atlas of the Universe. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/philipsuniverse/great_telescopes
  2. Freeman, Ira Henry (October 28, 1979). "An Astronomical Journey in Arizona". The New York Times (Late City ed.). p. 377. ISSN 0362-4331.
  3. http://www.lsstmail.org/noao/noaonews/mar00/node28.html
  4. Gregory, B; Abbott, T (July 22, 2008), The Blanco 4m Telescope, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
  5. Brief History of THE CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY
  6. Dark Energy Camera and Dark Energy Survey:photos, videos & graphics fnal.gov
  7. Berkeley Lab sensors enable first light for the dark energy camera phys.org Retrieved 2012-09-18
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