Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope
The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope, also known as the Mayall 4-meter Telescope, is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and named after Nicholas U. Mayall. It saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest telescope in the world at that time. Initial observers included David Crawford, Nicholas Mayall, and Arthur Hoag. It was dedicated on June 20, 1973 after Mayall's retirement as director. The mirror has an f/2.7 hyperboloidal shape. It is made from a two-foot (61 cm (24 in)) thick fused quartz disk that is supported in an advanced-design mirror cell. The prime focus has a field of view six times larger than that of the Hale reflector. It is host to the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. The identical Víctor M. Blanco Telescope was later built at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, in Chile.
| Alternative names | Mayall 4-meter Telescope |
|---|---|
| Part of | Kitt Peak National Observatory |
| Location(s) | Arizona |
| Coordinates | 31°57′48″N 111°36′00″W |
| Organization | NOIRLab |
| Altitude | 2,120 m (6,960 ft) |
| First light | February 27, 1973 |
| Discovered | Methane ice on Pluto |
| Telescope style | optical telescope Ritchey–Chrétien telescope |
| Diameter | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Collecting area | 11.4 m2 (123 sq ft) |
| Website | noirlab |
Location of Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope | |
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