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Organization: Caltech and the University of California

Location: Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Claim to Fame: On the isolated big island of Hawaii sit Keck’s twin telescopes, each 10 meters (about 33 ft) in diameter. When they were built in the early 1990s they became the largest such spans in the world. Keck’s advanced adaptive optics paved the way for computer-driven mirrors that can be adjusted multiple times per second to make up for atmospheric disturbances in real time.

Fun Fact:Though the Keck Observatory is more than 15 years old, it has essentially the same design and setup of the more monstrous telescopes under planning or construction, says Caltech’s Chuck Steidel, one of the designers of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope. “Keck Observatory is the prototype of the next generation,” he told PM.

Get More Information at Official Keck Observatory Website.

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