In July the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS saw its first light, which means that it turned its eyes on the sky for the first time and captured its first images. It did this using just twelve of the 36 segments that will make up its primary mirror.
Each of the segments can move independently so that together they will form a single hyperboloid surface, the shape of a shallow dish. We expect all of the mirror segments to be in place in just a few months now, but our journey to that moment has been a long one. Like solving a puzzle, we have had to move step by step and piece by piece. Our video tells the story.
Natalia R. Zelman