The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO)-the world’s highest observatory, officially opened in May 2024.
- The observatory is located at an altitude of 5640 m on the summit of Cerro Chajnantor at Atacama in northern Chile.
- The infrared telescope will be used to better our understanding of the universe as well as the origin of life.
- At such a height, the clear skies and little water vapour in the atmosphere make Atacama one of the best places in the world for ground-based infra-red astronomy.
- It is built by the University of Tokyo.
- The telescope, which can be remotely controlled, includes a 6.5 m primary mirror that has been developed at Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona.
- The observatory features two spectrographic instruments: the Simultaneous-color Wide-field Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph (SWIMS) and the Mid-Infrared Multimode Imager for gaZing at the UnKnown Universe (MIMIZUKU).
