Large Millimeter Telescope

Large Millimeter Telescope
Organization	National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Location	Volcán Sierra Negra
Coordinates	18°59′09″N 97°18′53″W / 18.98583°N 97.31472°W / 18.98583; -97.31472Coordinates: 18°59′09″N 97°18′53″W / 18.98583°N 97.31472°W / 18.98583; -97.31472[1]
Altitude	4,640 metres (15,200 ft)
Wavelength	0.85–4 mm (75–350 GHz)
Built	2001-2010
First light	2011-06-17[2]
Telescope style	Bent Cassegrain
Diameter	50 m
Secondary dia.	2.5 m
Angular resolution	5″ at 1 mm
Collecting area	1960 m²
Focal length	525 m
Mounting	Altitude-azimuth
Website	http://www.lmtgtm.org/

The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) (Spanish: Gran Telescopio Milimétrico, or GTM) was inaugurated in Mexico on 22 November 2006. It is the world's largest and most sensitive single-aperture telescope in its frequency range, built for observing radio waves in the wave lengths from approximately 0.85 to 4 mm. It has an active surface with a diameter of 50 metres and 2000 m² of collecting area.

Location of the LMT.

It is located within Chalchicomula de Sesma municipality, on top of the Sierra Negra, the fifth highest peak in Mexico and an extinct volcanic companion to Mexico's highest mountain, the Pico de Orizaba, in the state of Puebla. Its construction took 10 years, and cost 116 million dollars. It is a binational Mexican (80%) – American (20%) joint project of the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Millimeter wavelength observations using the LMT will give astronomers a view of regions which are obscured by dust in the interstellar medium, thus increasing our knowledge about star formation. The telescope is also particularly fitted for observing solar system planetesimals and planets and extra-solar protoplanetary disks which are relatively cold and emit most of their radiation at millimeter wavelengths. There are also proposals for observing fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background as well as active galactic nuclei.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Large Millimeter Telescope.

• LMT web site
• Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica
• University of Massachusetts Astronomy Department

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