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

The CFH observatory hosts a world-class, 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope. The observatory is located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a 4200 meter, dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii. The CFH Telescope became operational in 1979. The mission of CFHT is to provide for its user community a versatile and state-of-the-art astronomical observing facility which is well matched to the scientific goals of that community and which fully exploits the potential of the Mauna Kea site.^[1]

Photo: CFHT at sunset.

The CFHT is mainly used by Canadian and French astronomers as well as by astronomers affiliated with University of Hawaii, and is a joint facility of:

• National Research Council of Canada (see also Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics),
• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France (see also CNRS/INSU), and
• University of Hawaii (see also UH/IfA).
   

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