Getting your player ready...
LA PALMA, Canary Islands — One of the world’s most powerful telescopes opened its shutters for the first time Friday to begin exploring faint light from distant parts of the universe.
The Gran Telescopio Canarias, a $185 million telescope featuring a 34-foot reflecting mirror, sits atop an extinct volcano. Its location above cloud cover takes advantage of the pristine skies in the Atlantic Ocean. The observatory is 7,870 feet above sea level.
The Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, which runs the telescope, said it will capture the birth of stars, study characteristics of black holes and decipher some chemical components of the Big Bang.
