Atacama Cosmology Telescope
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The Atacama Cosmology Telescope, with in the background
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| Coordinates | 22°57′31″S 67°47′15″W / 22.9586°S 67.7875°WCoordinates: 22°57′31″S 67°47′15″W / 22.9586°S 67.7875°W |
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| Telescope style |
radio telescope 
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| Website | www |
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The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is a six-metre telescope on in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, near the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. It is designed to make high-resolution, microwave-wavelength surveys of the sky in order to study the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). At an altitude of 5190 metres (17,030 feet), it is one of the highest permanent, ground-based telescopes in the world.
Erected in the (austral) autumn of 2007, ACT saw first light on 22 October 2007 with its science receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera (MBAC), and completed its first season in December 2007. It began its second season of observations in June 2008.
The project is a collaboration between Cardiff University, Carnegie Mellon University, CITA/Toronto, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dunlap Institute/Toronto, Florida State, Haverford College, Johns Hopkins University, Kwazulu-Natal, SA NASA/GSFC, NIST, Oxford University, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Chile, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, UC Berkeley, University of British Columbia University of Chile, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, and West Chester University. It is funded by the US National Science Foundation.
The ACT is an off-axis Gregorian telescope, with a six-metre (236 in) primary mirror and a two-metre (79 in) secondary mirror. Both mirrors are segmented, consisting of 71 (primary) and 11 (secondary) aluminum panels. Unlike most telescopes which track the rotating sky during observation, the ACT observes a strip of sky, typically five degrees wide, by scanning back and forth in azimuth at the relatively rapid rate of two degrees per second. The rotating portion of the telescope weighs approximately 32 tonnes (35 short tons), creating a substantial engineering challenge. A ground screen surrounding the telescope minimises contamination from microwave radiation emitted by the ground. The design, manufacture and construction of the telescope were done by Dynamic Structures in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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