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Keck Telescopes
The two largest optical and infrared telescopes currently in use. Located at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both have primary mirrors 10 m (33 ft) in diameter, made from 36 1.8-m-wide hexagonal segments. A computer-controlled system of sensors and actuators adjusts the position of each segment relative to its neighbors, twice a second, to an accuracy of 4 nanometers. Each telescope has 4 times the light-gathering power of the famous 5-m Hale Telescope and 17 times that of the Hubble Space Telescope. Keck I began scientific observations in May 1993 and Keck II in October 1996. Attached to Keck I is HIRES, the High Resolution Échelle Spectrometer, used in the search for extrasolar planets (see San Francisco State University Planet Search). Among the instruments fitted to Keck II is MIRLIN, the Mid-InfraRed Large-well Imager, capable of showing detail in circumstellar disks and thereby shedding light on the process of planet formation.
Related category
• OBSERVATORIES AND TELESCOPES
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