The James Clark Maxwell Telescope ( James Clerk Maxwell Telescope or JCMT ) is an infrared telescope with a diameter of the main mirror of 15 meters. The name is given in honor of James Clark Maxwell ( 1831 - 1879 ) - the creator of the electromagnetic theory of light and one of the founders of modern physics and technology. Located at an altitude of 4200 meters above sea level, on Mount Mauna Kea , Hawaii , USA .
| James Clark Maxwell Telescope | |
|---|---|
 Caltech Submillimeter Observatory: Spherical dome - the premises of a 10-meter submillimeter telescope; Cylindrical structure - Maxwell Tower | |
| Type of | infrared |
| Location | Mauna Kea , Hawaii , USA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height | 4200 m |
| Wavelengths | 0.3-2 mm |
| Diameter | 15 m |
| Site | Official site |
The James Clark Maxwell Telescope is the largest astronomical telescope in the world designed specifically for operation in the submillimeter range (0.3-2 mm, between the infrared and microwave parts of the electromagnetic spectrum). The telescope is used to study the Solar System , interstellar dust and gas, and distant galaxies.
The main 15-meter telescope mirror was made in 1987 from 276 individual aluminum fragments. Even in the working position, the telescope’s mirror is covered with a goretex cloth - a special waterproof fabric that is 97% transparent for submillimeter waves. Thanks to the protective membrane, the telescope can be used including during the day to visualize the inner planets of the solar system and even the sun itself.
For each window of atmospheric transparency, this telescope has a special receiving equipment, cooled during operation to 4 ° Kelvin (−269 ° Celsius). Cooling is performed to repay its own radiation and noise in the working range of the telescope.
The receivers of the James Clark Maxwell Telescope include heterodyne (for detecting narrow molecular lines, which allows studying the distribution and dynamics of molecules in space) and non-selective, or continuous- spectrum detectors (for detecting interstellar dust radiation and allow studying its distribution, temperature, mass, and others properties). Also in its composition it contains polarimeters that allow you to determine the strength and direction of magnetic fields in the studied regions of the Universe.
It is part of the California Institute of Technology's submillimeter Radio Telescope Observatory as part of the Mauna Kea Observatory . The radio telescopic observatory together with the Mauna Kea Observatory create the first submillimeter interferometer . This experiment was also successfully carried out thanks to the acquisition and construction of interferometers of various wavelengths.
Using the JCMT telescope, cyanide compounds containing heavy hydrogen were discovered for the first time in comets in addition to heavy water . Also, the ratio of nitrogen isotopes 14N / 15N was first determined.