A ceremony was held in Chile to lay the foundation for the southern part of CTAO (Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory). It will be the world’s largest and most powerful gamma-ray observatory, providing new insights into the Universe.
CTAO is an international project involving several countries, scientific groups, and the European Southern Observatory.
The observatory is designed to detect very high-energy gamma rays emitted by the most powerful phenomena in the Universe. It will consist of more than 60 telescopes located at two sites, CTAO-South and CTAO-North (one in each hemisphere), with a total collection area of more than 1 million square meters. The southern site alone will have more than 50 telescopes designed to record a wide range of energies, from 20 GeV to 300 TeV, which is billions of times greater than the energy of visible light.
CTAO will detect high-energy radiation with unprecedented precision and accuracy, far exceeding the capabilities of modern gamma-ray telescopes. When an energetic gamma photon enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it produces a cascade of particles that cause radiation known as Cherenkov radiation—a characteristic faint blue flash of visible light. This flash lasts only a few billionths of a second, so it requires ultra-fast and sensitive cameras, with telescopes with enormous light-gathering power, operating under clear, dark skies. That is why Chile, famous for its minimal light pollution, was chosen as the location for the southern site.
By identifying the sources of gamma rays, CTAO will provide a deeper understanding than ever before of the most extreme phenomena and objects in our Universe. The observatory will focus on key areas such as understanding the origin and role of relativistic cosmic particles, studying black holes and neutron stars, and exploring the frontiers of physics by searching for dark matter and testing the limits of Einstein’s theory of relativity.
The start of construction of the CTAO foundation, which is being carried out by a consortium of Chilean companies, paves the way for the installation of the first gamma-ray telescopes. This is expected to happen by the end of 2026.
You can also read about the recently launched Vera Rubin Observatory. It has the largest field of view of any optical telescope.
According to ESO
