Gran Telescopio Canarias

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gran-telescopio-canarias

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the observatory location?Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
2. What is the primary mirror diameter?10.4 meters (410 inches)
3. Where is the Gran Telescopio Canarias located?It sits on the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, at 2,396 meters above sea level.
4. How does the Gran Telescopio Canarias collect light?Its mirror is made of 36 segments that are constantly adjusted by an active optics system to act as one perfect mirror, letting it gather more light than smaller telescopes.

Aperture: The diameter of the primary lens or mirror of a telescope, determining its light-gathering power.
Active Optics: A system used in large telescopes to continuously adjust mirror shape and position for optimal image quality.
Spectrograph: An instrument that disperses light into its component wavelengths for analysis of celestial object properties.