New 2-meter telescope on Mount Wendelstein

On 21 Mai, the University Observatory München (USM) – a partner institution of the Excellence Cluster Universe – introduced their new telescope at the Wendelstein Observatory in the Bavarian Alps. The telescope’s mirror has a diameter of two meters, and is thus more than twice as big as its predecessor. The heart of the new telescope consists of infrared cameras, which provide images from the depth of the Universe. The cameras were developed by the USM scientists Ralf Bender and Ulrich Hopp in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Hawaii. The Excellence Cluster Universe provided funding.

The planning and construction phase took about four years. More than 700 Helicopter flight were necessary to transport the telescope, its dome, and the construction material to the Observatory, which is located on top of the 1838 meter high mount Wendelstein. The effort was well worth it, since the Bavarian Alps provide a very dark and clear sky.

With the new telescope, the Astronomers will be able to look up to ten billion light years into the outer space. This will allow the exploration of distant galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Furthermore, the scientists plan to gain new information about the mysterious dark matter and dark energy as well as super massive black holes in the centers of galaxies. The telescope will also help to take advantage of synergies with international large telescopes.

First observations regarding the examination of dark energy are planned for this year in collaboration with the Hobby-Ebberly-Telescope (HET) in Texas. The 10-meter-telescope of HET will scan different areas of the sky and the Wendelstein Observatory will provide the images required for comparison.

In the future, USM Scientist will explore remote galaxies and clusters of galaxies together with Astronomers from the University of Hawaii. The Hawaiian telescopes will scan large sections of the sky for those star systems. The Wendelstein telescope will perform follow-up studies: It will focus on the discovered galaxy clusters to determine their distance and structure. Thereby, the astronomers will gain knowledge about the origin and the evolution of the Universe.