JCMT is a leg of Around the World in 80 Telescopes tour: Click to play; click  (lower right) to view video full screen. Next stop: CFHT Telescope (previous stop: Keck)

The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is the world's largest single-dish submillimeter-wave telescope. It collects faint submillimeter-wavelength signals with its 15-meter diameter dish. It is situated near the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, at an altitude of approximately 4000 meters (14000 feet) above sea level.^[1] The JCMT is used to study our Solar System, interstellar dust and gas, and distant galaxies.^[2]

Photo: The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii

The 15-meter diameter primary reflector of the JCMT is made up of 276 individual lightweight panels. Each panel consists of a thin aluminium skin bonded to an aluminium honeycomb and is attached at three points to the backing structure of the antenna. The alignment of the mechanical panels can be adjusted by means of stepper motors at the mounting points.

The JCMT is funded and operated by partnership between the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands (the Partner Countries) on behalf of astronomers worldwide.

READ MORE »