Víctor M. Blanco Telescope Explained

The Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as the Blanco 4m, is a 4-metre aperture telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile on the summit of Mt. Cerro Tololo. Commissioned in 1974 and completed in 1976,^[1] the telescope is identical to the Mayall 4m telescope located on Kitt Peak.^{[2] [3]} In 1995 it was dedicated and named in honour of Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco.^[4] It was the largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere from 1976 until 1998, when the first 8-metre telescope of the ESO Very Large Telescope opened.

Currently the main research instrument used at the telescope is the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), the camera used in the Dark Energy Survey. DECam saw its first light in September 2012.^{[5] [6]}

The Mosaic II camera was used at this CTIO 4-m telescope in the southern hemisphere since 1999.^[7] This was a development of the KNPO Mosaic camera installed in 1998 in the northern hemisphere. These cameras were used for various astronomical surveys, and were noted for their success.

Largest optical astronomical telescopes in 1976

width=18		Name / Observatory	Image	Aperture	width=60	M1 Area	Altitude	width=60	First Light	Special advocate
	align=left	BTA-6	bgcolor=#ddd		238 inch 605 cm	26 m^2	2070m (6,790feet)	1975	Mstislav Keldysh
	align=left	Hale Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		200 inch 508 cm	20 m^2	1713m (5,620feet)	1949	George Ellery Hale
	align=left	Mayall Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		158 inch 401 cm	10 m^2	2120m (6,960feet)	-->	1973	Nicholas Mayall
	align=left	Víctor M. Blanco Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		158 inch 401 cm	10 m^2	2200m (7,200feet)	1976	Nicholas Mayall
	align=left	Anglo-Australian Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		153 inch 389 cm	12 m^2	1742m (5,715feet)	1974	Prince Charles
	align=left	ESO 3.6 m Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		140 inch 357 cm	8.8 m^2	2400m (7,900feet)	1976	Adriaan Blaauw
	align=left	Shane Telescope	bgcolor=#ddd		120 inch 305 cm	~7 m^2	1283m (4,209feet)	1959	Nicholas Mayall

See also

• List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
• List of astronomical observatories
• List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century

Notes and References

1. Great Telescopes. (2003). In Atlas of the Universe. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/philipsuniverse/great_telescopes
2. News: The New York Times . An Astronomical Journey in Arizona . October 28, 1979 . 377 . Late City . Freeman . Ira Henry . 0362-4331.
3. Web site: Archived copy . 2009-10-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727042945/http://www.lsstmail.org/noao/noaonews/mar00/node28.html . 2011-07-27 . dead .
4. Web site: Brief History of THE CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY . 2008-09-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907001245/http://www.ctio.noao.edu/diroff/ctio_history.htm . 2008-09-07 . dead .
5. http://fnal.gov/pub/presspass/press_releases/2012/DES-DECam-201209-images.html Dark Energy Camera and Dark Energy Survey:photos, videos & graphics
6. http://phys.org/news/2012-09-berkeley-lab-sensors-enable-dark.html Berkeley Lab sensors enable first light for the dark energy camera
7. Dey. Arjun. Valdes. Francisco. 2014-03-01. The Delivered Image Quality with the MOSAIC Cameras at the Kitt Peak 4 m Mayall and Cerro Tololo 4 m Blanco Telescopes. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. en. 126. 937. 296. 10.1086/675808. 1538-3873. free.