The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT): An International Observatory

Abstract

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be the first truly global ground-based optical/infrared observatory. It will initiate the era of extremely large (30-meter class) telescopes with diffraction limited performance from its vantage point in the northern hemisphere on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA. The astronomy communities of India, Canada, China, Japan and the USA are shaping its science goals, suite of instrumentation and the system design of the TMT observatory. With large and open Nasmyth-focus platforms for generations of science instruments, TMT will have the versatility and flexibility for its envisioned 50 years of forefront astronomy. The TMT design employs the filled-aperture finely-segmented primary mirror technology pioneered with the W.M. Keck 10-meter telescopes. With TMT’s 492 segments optically phased, and by employing laser guide star assisted multi-conjugate adaptive optics, TMT will achieve the full diffraction limited performance of its 30-meter aperture, enabling unprecedented wide field imaging and multi-object spectroscopy. The TMT project is a global effort of its partners with all partners contributing to the design, technology development, construction and scientific use of the observatory. TMT will extend astronomy with extremely large telescopes to all of its global communities.