National Academy of Sciences Report Ranks US Extremely Large Telescope Program, Including the Giant Magellan Telescope, as Top Priority for US Astronomy in the 2020s
AUSTIN — A new report out from the National Academy of Sciences, the highly anticipated decadal survey Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s, or “Astro2020,” has presented recommendations for making federal investments critical to achieving advances in US astronomy over the next decade. The report ranked the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) as the top project for ground-based observatories, recommending federal support for the final construction stages of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT).