Large Philanthropist Gift To UA-Partnered Giant Magellan Telescope Observatory

By Andrew Bernier
Published: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 - 9:59am
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“Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.”
A closeup of the mirrors within the observatory.
“Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.”
The Giant Magellan Telescope

The University of Arizona is partnering with ten other institutions to build the world’s largest telescope. Now the founder of a Scottsdale-based company is giving the project a sizable boost.

The UA has received a $20 million gift toward its participation in building the Giant Magellan Telescope Observatory. The telescope will have six times the light gathering capacity of the largest telescopes today.

“This is, of course, the biggest gift that the department has ever received by an order of magnitude," said Daniel Petrocelli of the UA’s Astronomy Department.

“It’s going to have a mirror that’s effectively about 80 feet across," Petrocelli said. "It’s made up of seven separate mirrors all of which should be built here at the University of Arizona at our mirror lab.”

The Steward Observatory Mirror Lab will be renamed the Richard F. Caris Lab in honor of the donor. Caris is the founder of Scottsdale tech company Interface Inc.

Along with the mirrors, UA needed to contribute $60 million to the project. This gift will be applied to that cost.

The Magellan Telescope will be built in Chile’s Atacama Desert with a completion date of 2021.

Science