The McMath-Pierce solar telescope is located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, and is a reflecting telescope with a mirror diameter of 1.6m. It was built in 1962 by Myron Goldsmith, and now stands as the largest solar telescope in the world. It is named after Robert McMath and Keith Pierce. 

 

The building itself is a feat of engineering, as can be seen in the image. At the top of the 100 foot tall tower is a 'heliostat', which focuses the light from the Sun down the sloping shaft which continues deep underground, where the primary mirror is situated. This building was cleverly designed by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. 

 

Unlike any other solar telescope, the McMath-Pierce solar telescope is able to see bright stars in the night sky due to its long focal length and overall sensitivity.

 

The telescope is used to study the structure of sunspots and sunspot spectra which has helped us to understand many things about the Sun such as isotopic helium, solar emission lines as 12 microns, magnetic field lines around sunspots and the first high resolution images at 1.6 10 microns. 

 

A visitor guide for this telescope will be available to download soon!