Introduction
Astronomers have been working to build larger and larger optical telescopes to unveil the secret of the Universe, from the First Stars after the Big Bang to the habitable exoplanets. With the aim of providing infrastructure for Korean astronomers to carry out outstanding research, the Center for Large Telescopes (CfLAT) operates 8 meter-class telescopes through the international partnership and participates in the 25 meter Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project for the next generation.
(left) 3D rendering image of GMT (Image credit: GMTO), Gemini Observatory consisting of twin telescopes (middle: Gemini-South, right: Gemini-North) operated by an international partnership including KASI (Image credit: Gemini/AURA)
Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) GMTO link
- Development of the world’s largest optical/infrared telescope (25 meter) for the era of the extremely large ground-based telescopes in 2020s.
- Initiated by the Carnegie Observatories in 2003, GMTO Corporation carries out the development and construction of the GMT on behalf of an international consortium including the institutes in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Korea.
- Equipped with seven 8.4-meter primary mirrors combined with the cutting-edge adaptive optics and optical/infrared instruments.
- Expected to do revolutionizing researches on the Universe, such as the early Universe and exoplanets, based on the high resolving power and superb sensitivity.
The GMT will have a resolving power 10 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope. The image shows simulated AO images in H-band of Globular Cluster around Cen A (Credit: GMTO).
Organization
The CfLAT consists of “Optical Astronomical Technology Group (OATG)” for research and development of optical/infrared instruments and telescopes, and “K-GMT Science Group (KGSG)” for all science operations run by the CfLAT.
K-GMT Science Group (KGSG) KGSG link
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| KGO Operation | Manpower training and community science support | Participation in international survey projects | Development of the next generation research topics |
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Optical Astronomical Technology Group (OATG) OATG link
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| GMT Instrumentation | Instrumentation for Large Telescopes | Telescope and instrument technology | Gravitational Wave (GW) Detection Technology |
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Main projects
- Participation in the international consortium for the GMT
- Research development and training for the era of the GMT
- K-GMT Summer School ( Summer School )
- K-GMT Science white paper ( Science white paper )
- Fellowship program
- Support for state-of-the-art technology development of observational instrumentation
- Science operation and support
- K-GMT Science program for Gemini, MMT, etc. ( K-GMT Science Program )
- K-GMT Science Program Users Meeting ( Users Meeting )
- Development of Science Projects for Large Survey Data (LSST, UWIFE, SDSS) and high-resolution spectroscopy
- Optical spectrograph G-CLEF for GMT ( G-CLEF )
- Infrared spectrograph GMTNIRS fort GMT ( GMTNIRS )
- IGRINS-2 IR spectrograph for Gemini ( IGRINS-2 )
- MagNIFIES IR spectrograph for Magellan ( MagNIFIES )
- Research for Large Cryogenic Optics System and cooling system design
- Active Optics System for optical telescope
- Fabrication/Alignment/Performance/Environmental verification for optics and other critical systems
- Technical support for maintenance of telescopes and instruments at Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) and Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory (SOAO)
- Development of the quantum squeezing technology
- International collaboration on the next generation GW detector development
Facilities and Resources
High-resolution near-infrared spectrograph IGRINS: mounted on McDonald 2.7m, Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) 4.3m, Gemini 8.1m
Large Optical/Infrared Telescope (Gemini, MMT)
(left) Gemini Telescope (image credit: Gemini/AURA), (middle) IGRINS mounted on Gemini-S, (right) MMT (image credit: MMT/NOAO)