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Signing event -- South Korea joins Giant Magellan Telescope Project

Date: Friday, February 6, 2009

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Carnegie Observatories
813 Santa Barbara Street
Pasadena, California 91101

On February 6, 2009, President Seok Jae Park [Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute (KASI)], on behalf of the Republic of Korea, will sign the Giant Magellan Telescope Founders' Agreement, making KASI a founding member of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) Corporation. The host of the event will be Dr. Wendy Freedman, Director of the Carnegie Observatories and Chair of the Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation Board. Both will be available to answer questions. A reception, with refreshments, will follow.

At this signing, KASI will officially join the Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, The University of Arizona, The University of Texas at Austin, Australian National University, and Astronomy Australia Limited in this bold multinational effort.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is an innovative 25-meter (80-foot) optical and infrared telescope that will provide a powerful new window on the Universe. It will produce images 10 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope and will probe to far fainter levels than possible with today's largest ground-based telescopes. The GMT will be located in Chile and is scheduled for completion around 2019.

For more information on the telescope, visit www.gmto.org

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