Víctor M. Blanco Telescope

The Víctor M. Blanco telescope features a 4-meter primary mirror and a 1.3-meter secondary mirror in its Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain configuration at 2207 meters elevation.

From its completion in 1976 until 1998, this telescope maintained its position as the largest optical instrument in the Southern hemisphere before the ESO Very Large Telescope.

The National Science Foundation funds this telescope through NOIRLab, enabling international researchers to conduct astronomical studies and gather data about celestial phenomena.

The Dark Energy Camera mounted on the telescope captures images across three square degrees of sky, allowing scientists to study galactic structures and cosmic expansion.

The telescope contributed to the 1998 discovery of dark energy through supernova observations, leading to the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for three astronomers.

Elevation above the sea: 2,207 m

Part of: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, The Dark Energy Survey

Website: https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/victor-blanco-4m-telescope

GPS coordinates: -30.16967,-70.80653

Latest update: March 13, 2025 17:40