About the Thirty Meter Telescope Project
The Subaru Telescope and ALMA have discovered and confirmed galaxies in the first 300-400 million years after the birth of the Universe, and have successfully imaged planets around stars other than the Sun. But how those first galaxies were born and what are the surface and atmospheric properties of the imaged planets are questions to be answered by the next generation of extremely large telescopes. The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will outperform previous telescopes by a factor of 10 in its ability to collect light, thanks to its 30-m aperture primary mirror, with its 492 mirror segments. It will also achieve a resolution about five times greater than the James Webb Space Telescope through the use of adaptive optics. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is promoting TMT as an international cooperative project which will lead astronomy in the 2030s.
Conceptual Image of TMT as Completed and a Mirror Segment
Artist’s conception of TMT. TMT is being constructed on Maunakea, on Hawai'i Island, where Subaru Telescope is located.
Conceptual image of the completed telescope structure and the mirror segment prototyped in Japan. TMT is advancing through international collaboration. Japan will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the telescope structure and the primary mirror (segmented mirror), which will be key components of the telescope.