THE GREAT CANARIAS TELESCOPE WILL BE OPENED THE EVENING OF JULY 13. A very ambitious Spanish project with an optical system of the most advanced in the world. Source: Journal Alerts

Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is the most ambitious Spanish project to build one of the largest and most advanced telescopes in the world, see their first light on July 13, when will be opened, reported sources of the Astrophysics Institute de Canarias (IAC).

After seven years of building in the Centre of the Roque de Los Muchachos, La Palma, work place that brings together the best conditions for observation due to the quality of the sky and a law that protects it concludes one of the "big science" driven by Spanish Governments and Canary. With this telescope you can learn more about black holes, stars and galaxies more moved away of the universe and the initial conditions after the Big Bang, and hoped that the telescope would serve to make progress in all fields of Astrophysics.

The optical system is completed with two mirrors that form image in seven focal and be equipped with computers to collect data, such as high efficiency in the optical range, camera and spectrograph in the thermal infrared spectrograph multi-object to work in the infrared, or a spectrograph low-resolution camera and spectrograph stations.

It is expected to install an adaptive optics system in the near future that allows high quality images in the infrared. The project has promoted on anonymous society Grantecan SA, established in 1994, which have involved Governments Spanish and Canary. However the GTC has international, since agreements have been signed to engage in project Mexico, by the Institute of astronomy Mexico, autonomous National University and the National Institute of Astrophysics, optics and electronics of Puebla. It is also United States, partner of the University of Florida.