A large millimeter telescope (LMT) is a type of astronomical observatory designed to detect and study electromagnetic radiation in the millimeter wavelength range. The LMT is one of the largest and most sensitive telescopes of its kind in the world. It is located in Mexico at an altitude of 4,600 meters on the Sierra Negra volcano.
The Large Millimeter Telescope was conceived in 1993 by a group of scientists from Canada, France, Italy, and Mexico who recognized the potential of this new technology for astrophysical research. Construction of the LMT began in 2003 and was completed in 2009. The LMT has been operational since 2011.
The LMT consists of two mirrors that reflect incoming radiation to a focal point where it can be detected by sensitive instruments. The primary mirror is 30 meters in diameter, making it one of the largest single-aperture telescopes in operation today. The secondary mirror is 10 meters in diameter. Together, these mirrors collect more than 50 times as much light as a human eye can see.
The large size of the LMT’s mirrors enables it to collect faint signals from distant objects in space with great sensitivity. For example, the LMT can detect objects that are 100 times fainter than what can be seen with the naked eye or objects that are 1/10th as bright as what can be seen with current ground-based telescopes operating at similar wavelengths. This makes the LMT an ideal tool for studying some of the most distant and faintest objects in our Universe such as galaxies that formed just after the Big Bang 13 billion years ago or black holes millions or billions of times more massive than our Sun
In addition to its great sensitivity, another key advantage of the LMT is its ability to image very large areas of sky quickly thanks to its wide field-of-view (FOV). The FOVoftheL MTis50timeslargerthanthatofHubbleSpaceTelescopeand 5timeslargerthanthatof HerschelSpaceObservatory which operated at similar wavelengths(250to500μm). This means thattheL MTcanimageanentireskyareaeachnightwhereashubblewouldtake monthsoryearsandHerscheltookdaysorevenweeksfordoingthesamejob . Becauseoftheselargeobservingcapabilities ,theLMThasbeeninvolvedinseveralsurveysincludingacensusofthedustygalaxies inthelocaluniverseouttoz~1(redshiftone)andstudiesofthe starformationrate densityevolutionovercosmictime .