Cherenkov Telescope Array
Artistic drawing of the CTA site (G. Perez, IAC)
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optical telescope gamma-ray telescope 
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The Cherenkov Telescope Array or CTA is a multinational, worldwide project to build a new generation ground-based gamma-ray instrument in the energy range extending from some tens of GeV to about 300 TeV. It is proposed as an open observatory and will consist of two arrays of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), a first array at the Northern Hemisphere with emphasis on the study of extragalactic objects at the lowest possible energies, and a second array at the Southern Hemisphere, which is to cover the full energy range and concentrate on galactic sources. The physics program of CTA goes beyond high energy astrophysics into cosmology and fundamental physics.
CTA intends to improve the flux sensitivity of the current generation of IACTs such as MAGIC, HESS, and VERITAS by an order of magnitude. It will foreseeably consist of tens of IACTs of different mirror sizes. Production of the first telescope prototypes started in 2013. CTA is designed and will be built by an international collaboration of scientists, with a strong involvement of European institutions. The project is on the road-map of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), the European Astroparticle Physics network ASPERA and the European Astrophysics network ASTRONET.
Cost for base-line design of the project is estimated at €300 million (US$350 million).
As of July 2017, the CTA Consortium includes 1,350 members from 210 institutes in 32 countries: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States. The group of scientists and engineers are engaged in the scientific and technical development of CTA. Its internal authority, the Consortium Board, includes representatives from each of the Consortium institutes and is responsible for endorsing all major Consortium decisions.
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