![]() Some key capabilities, like the detection of faint planets orbiting nearby stars, will increase by factors of up to 1000. As a result, many science programs will realize a 100-fold gain in the detection and study of faint sources. ![]() In addition, from the outset we are designing TMT to deliver perfect (diffraction-limited) images over much of its operating wavelength range. The TMT project is rapidly moving toward construction of a telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 30m, offering 10 times more light-gathering power than the current largest telescopes. We must therefore design the most powerful and versatile facility that we can afford. We are also mindful that, as history demonstrates, many discoveries cannot be foreseen. ![]() It will work synergistically with other major observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. We are designing the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to rise to that challenge. It is becoming increasingly clear that we must push to much fainter sources with much better data than currently possible to make significant progress on solving many of the key problems. What is dark energy? And dark matter? How did galaxies and supermassive black holes form and evolve in the early universe? What is the origin of stars, planets, and life itself? Answers to these and related questions require new developments in space- and groundbased astronomy coupled with advances in experimental and theoretical physics.
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