Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope is a research facility on Mauna Kea's summit featuring a 3.6-meter optical and infrared telescope positioned at approximately 4,200 meters elevation. The installation enables observations through specialized instruments that detect different wavelengths of light from space.

The facility began operating in 1979 as a result of a partnership agreement between research institutions from Canada, France, and the University of Hawaii. This international initiative allowed the participating nations to combine their resources and invest jointly in space research.

The facility represents a partnership between scientists from three nations working together on shared research projects and discoveries. Visitors can sense the international character of the work happening at this remote mountain site.

Researchers submit their projects for evaluation by specialized committees that regularly decide on facility access and usage time. The high elevation requires good physical conditioning and acclimatization for anyone visiting the site.

The MegaCam instrument captures sky images with a resolution of 378 megapixels across a field of view spanning one degree. This combination of high resolution and wide viewing angle allows astronomers to gather large amounts of data efficiently.