Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)

Astronomical Observatories

Description: The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is a 10-metre class optical telescope designed mainly for spectroscopy. It consists of 91 hexagonal mirror segments each with a 1-metre inscribed diameter, resulting in a total hexagonal mirror of 11.1 by 9.8 m. It is located close to the town of Sutherland in the semi-desert region of the Karoo, South Africa. It is a facility of the South African Astronomical Observatory, the national optical observatory of South Africa. SALT is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It enables imaging, spectroscopic, and polarimetric analysis of the radiation from astronomical objects out of reach of northern hemisphere telescopes. SALT is located on a hilltop 1837 m above sea level in a nature reserve in the Hantam, Karroo 370 km (230 mi) north-east of Cape Town, near the small town of Sutherland. In March 2004, installation of the massive mirror began. The last of the 91 smaller mirrored hexagon segments was put in place in May 2005.

Country: South Africa

Website: https://www.salt.ac.za/

Phone: +27 (0)23 571 1205

Altitude: 1501 - 2500 meters

Type of observatory: Optical telescope

Established: 2006

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