Major Observatories

The Royal Greenwich Observatory, located in London, England, was founded in 1675 and is the oldest major astronomical observatory in the world.

Lowell Observatory, located in Flagstaff, Arizona, is known for its discovery of Pluto in 1930.

The Gran Telescopio Canarias, located on the Canary Islands, Spain, is the largest optical telescope in the world, with a primary mirror diameter of 10.4 meters.

The Kepler Space Telescope, launched in 2009, is known for its discovery of the first exoplanet, a planet outside our solar system, in 2010.

Paranal Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Silla Observatory, and the Very Large Telescope are all located in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The Event Horizon Telescope, a network of radio telescopes around the world, is known for its discovery of the first black hole image in 2019.

Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Gemini Observatory, and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope are all located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), launched in 2001, is known for its discovery of the cosmic microwave background, the remnant radiation from the Big Bang.

Arecibo Observatory, located in the Arecibo sinkhole in Puerto Rico, was a radio telescope known for its contributions to astronomy and planetary science.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is known for its discovery of the first gravitational waves in 2015.

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a radio telescope located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, known for its high-resolution observations of the universe at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths.

Parkes Observatory, located in Australia, is known for its discovery of the first pulsars in 1967.

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a set of four telescopes located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, known for its high-resolution observations of the universe in visible and infrared light.

The Kepler Space Telescope, launched in 2009, is known for its discovery of the first extrasolar planets, planets outside our solar system.

The Gemini Observatory, located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, consists of two 8-meter telescopes, known for their high-resolution observations of the universe in visible and infrared light.