What does TMT mean in UNCLASSIFIED

The Ten Meter Telescope (TMT) is a state-of-the-art ground-based observatory that will allow astronomers to explore the mysteries of the universe with unparalleled clarity and sophistication. It features a 10-meter primary mirror, which will make it one of the largest optical/infrared telescopes in the world.

The TMT will be located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at an elevation of 4200 meters. The site's position on Earth, as well as its clear atmosphere and dark skies create excellent conditions for astronomical observations and discoveries.

With its powerful capabilities, the TMT can study stars, planets, galaxies and other cosmic phenomena in unprecedented detail. Astronomers can use this data to better understand our solar system and galaxy formation; search for extra-solar planets; explore black holes; peer into distant galaxies; and more.

The TMT is much larger than most current optical/infrared telescopes, with an aperture of 30 feet (10m). This increased size provides a significant increase in both resolution and light gathering power when compared to traditional instruments. As such, it offers tremendous potential for new discoveries across many areas of astronomy.

The TMT utilizes various advanced technologies to ensure optimal image quality from its large primary mirror. Included among these are specialized adaptive optics hardware that corrects for atmospheric turbulence; ultra precision actuators capable of sub nanometer tip/tilt wavefront control in all directions; deformable secondary mirrors; high performance imaging sensors; wide field cameras with focal plane arrays up to 2Kx2K pixels; specialized software tools for multiuser operation; and sophisticated control systems for managing multiple instruments simultaneously.

Construction of the TMT is being funded primarily by a consortium consisting of Caltech, University of California (UC), Canada’s National Research Council (NRC), Japan’s National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS), India’s Department of Science & Technology (DST), China’s Academy Of Sciences (CAS) and several private donors within those countries. Additionally, on June 18th 2018 a memorandum was signed between Canada’s NRC and UC outlining their combined operations agreement on behalf of all partners for both construction and operation.

Building such an intricate instrument takes many years - typically around two decades or more from planning stages through construction completion - due to its complexity. Numerous teams comprised of engineers, scientists researchers, builders must collaborate with one another in order to bring this ambitious project to fruition. Development has been underway since 2009 but likely still remains at least 5-7 years away from completion according to current estimates as funding sources have not yet been completely confirmed.