Canada and UBC secure major role in world’s largest telescope

CFI funding will enable UBC astronomers and partners to support Canada’s contribution to the most powerful optical and infrared telescope ever built.

UBC astronomers are partnering with the Université de Montréal, the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, and the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets to support Canada’s contribution to the largest telescope at optical and near-infrared wavelengths ever built.

With investments from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the team will secure a major role in developing the ANDES instrument on the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). At 39 metres in diameter, the ELT will be the first of a new class of “giant telescopes” capable of observing the Universe in unprecedented detail.

"ANDES will enable an unprecedentedly deep view into the cosmic dawn epoch,” says Dr. Allison Man, assistant professor with UBC Physics and Astronomy and co-PI of the Canadian contribution to ANDES. “We’ll answer fundamental questions about the origin of chemical elements and learn how the first stars and active black holes lit up the Universe."

With first light expected later this decade, the telescope will open a new window onto everything from nearby exoplanets to the most distant galaxies.

Canada isn’t currently a member of the European Southern Observatory, the organisation building and operating the ELT. However, through this investment, Canadian astronomers will gain guaranteed access to the telescope, something that would otherwise not be possible.

“This is a transformative moment for Canadian astronomy, propelling Canada into a leading role in what may become the most powerful ground-based telescope ever built,” says Dr. René Doyon, professor at Université de Montréal and co-PI of the Canadian contribution to ANDES.

For decades, access to a very large optical telescope has been identified as a top priority for Canada, including in the Canadian Astronomical Society’s Long-Range Plan for the 2020s. With delays affecting other international projects, the ELT represents the only near-term pathway for Canadian scientists to participate in this new era of discovery.

A powerhouse instrument for discovery

ANDES will combine extreme sensitivity with high spectral resolution, allowing astronomers to study the Universe in entirely new ways. It will operate across visible and infrared wavelengths and is designed to tackle some of the biggest questions in astrophysics, from the origins of the elements to the evolution of galaxies. 
One of its most exciting capabilities lies closer to home.

ANDES will be the first instrument capable of directly searching for signs of life in the atmospheres of nearby Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars—often considered the Holy Grail of exoplanetary science. By combining high-dispersion spectroscopy with advanced imaging techniques, it will be able to detect molecules such as water, oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide on these exoplanets beyond our Solar System.

“This is the kind of instrument that could answer one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the Universe?” says Dr. Frédérique Baron, project manager for the Canadian ANDES team. “Canada’s contribution provides key components of the instrument and the data analysis pipeline, positioning our team to play a central role in transforming raw observations into robust detections of atmospheric molecules on nearby Earth-like planets.”