Think of a telescope that’s sized about thirty meters….doesn’t it feel ‘ASTRONOMICAL’! Well this huge telescope is for real and is presently under construction so that it could be used to delve deeper into the secrets of space. It’s a ground based telescope to be completed in 2018 that has a primary mirror size that of a blue whale. “It will have nine times the collecting power of the Keck telescopes and 12 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.”

What you see in the picture is the honeycomb like arrangement of several small mirrors put together so that they can act as one unit with the help of computer assistance. The reflector of this Thirty Meter Telescope uses 492 such mirrors.The phenomenal TMT will be located at the volcanic dome of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

[source:www.wired.com]