View source for Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology

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'''[[Timeline]] of [[telescope]]s, [[observatory|observatories]], and observing [[technology]].'''
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==Before the Common Era (BCE)==

===1900s BCE===
* [[Taosi]] Astronomical Observatory, [[Xiangfen]] County, [[Linfen]] City, [[Shanxi]] Province, China

===1500s BCE===
* [[Shadow clock]]s invented in [[ancient Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]]

===600s BCE===
* 11th–7th century BCE, [[Zhou dynasty]] astronomical observatory (灵台) in [[Fenghao]] (today's [[Xi'an]]), China

===200s BCE===
* Thirteen Towers solar observatory, [[Chankillo]], [[Peru]]
* Antikythera Mechanism, a geared astronomical computer that calculates lunar and solar eclipses, the position of the Sun and the Moon the lunar phase (age of the Moon as seen from Earth), has several lunisolar calendars, including the Olympic Games calendar. It is at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Freeth |first1=T. |last2=Bitsakis |first2=Y. |last3=Moussas |first3=X. |last4=Seiradakis |first4=J. H. |last5=Tselikas |first5=A. |last6=Mangou |first6=H. |last7=Zafeiropoulou |first7=M. |last8=Hadland |first8=R. |last9=Bate |first9=D. |last10=Ramsey |first10=A. |last11=Allen |first11=M. |last12=Crawley |first12=A. |last13=Hockley |first13=P. |last14=Malzbender |first14=T. |last15=Gelb |first15=D. |date=November 2006 |title=Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05357 |journal=Nature |volume=444 |issue=7119 |pages=587–591 |doi=10.1038/nature05357 |pmid=17136087 |bibcode=2006Natur.444..587F |s2cid=4424998 |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===100s BCE===
* 220-206 BCE, [[Han dynasty]] astronomical observatory ([[灵台]]) in [[Chang'an]] and [[Luoyang]]. During [[Han dynasty|East Han dynasty]], astronomical observatory (灵台) built in [[Yanshi]], [[Henan]] Province, China
* 220-150 BCE, [[Astrolabe]] invented by [[Apollonius of Perga]]

==Common Era (CE)==

===400s===
* 5th century – Observatory at [[Ujjain]], [[India]]

===600s===
* 632–647 – [[Cheomseongdae]] observatory is built in the reign of [[Queen Seondeok]] at [[Gyeongju]], then the capital of [[Silla]] (present day [[South Korea]])
* 618–1279 – [[Tang dynasty]]-[[Song dynasty]], observatories built in [[Chang'an]], [[Kaifeng]], [[Hangzhou]], China

===700s===
* 700–96 – Brass [[astrolabe]] constructed by [[Muhammad al-Fazari]] based on [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] sources

===800s===
* 9th century – [[Quadrant (instrument)|quadrant]] invented by [[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī]] in 9th century [[Baghdad]] and is used for astronomical calculations<ref name="King-2002">{{Citation |last=King |first=David A. |year=2002 |title=A Vetustissimus Arabic Text on the Quadrans Vetus |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |volume=33 |issue=112 |pages=237–255 [237–8]|bibcode = 2002JHA....33..237K |doi=10.1177/002182860203300302 |s2cid=125329755 }}</ref>
* 800–33 – The first modern [[observatory]] research institute built in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], by [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|Arabic astronomers]] during time of [[Al-Mamun]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Kennedy |first=Edward S. |year=1962 |title=Review: ''The Observatory in Islam and Its Place in the General History of the Observatory'' by Aydin Sayili |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=237–239 |doi=10.1086/349558 }}</ref>
* 825–35 – [[Astronomy in medieval Islam#Observatories|Al-Shammisiyyah observatory]] by [[Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi]] in Baghdad, Iraq<ref name="Langermann">{{citation|title=The Book of Bodies and Distances of Habash al-Hasib|last=Langermann|first=Y. Tzvi|journal=[[Centaurus (journal)|Centaurus]]|year=1985|volume=28|issue=2|pages=108–128 [112]|doi=10.1111/j.1600-0498.1985.tb00831.x|bibcode = 1985Cent...28..108T }}</ref>

===900s===
* 10th century – Large [[astrolabe]] of diameter 1.4 meters constructed by [[Ibn Yunus]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge illustrated history of the world's science|last=Ronan|first=Colin|date=1983|page=214}}</ref>
* 994 – First [[Sextant (astronomical)|sextant]] constructed in [[Ray, Iran]], by [[Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi]]. It was a very large [[Mural instrument|mural]] sextant that achieved a high level of accuracy for astronomical measurements.<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Khujandi|title=Al-Khujandi}}</ref>

===1000s===
* 1000 – [[Mokattam]] observatory in [[Egypt]] for [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]]
* 11th century – [[Planisphere]] invented by Biruni<ref>[[Will Durant]] (1950). ''[[The Story of Civilization]] IV: The Age of Faith'', pp. 239–45.</ref>
* 11th century – Universal latitude-independent [[astrolabe]] invented by [[Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī]] (Arzachel)<ref>{{cite book |title=The History of Cartography: Cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies |volume = 2| year = 1992| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]| isbn = 0-226-31635-1| pages = 28–9 |author1=John Brian Harley |author2=David Woodward |author3=G. Malcolm Lewis}}</ref>
* 1023 – [[Hamedan]] observatory in [[Iran|Persia]]
* c. 1030 – ''[[Book of Optics|Treasury of Optics]]'' by [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) of Iraq and Egypt
* 1074–92 – [[Malikshah Observatory]] at [[Isfahan]] used by [[Omar Khayyám]]

===1100s===
* 1100–50 – [[Jabir ibn Aflah]] develops instruments resembling and perhaps inspiring the  [[torquetum]], an observational instrument and mechanical [[analog computer]] device<ref>{{citation|first=R. P.|last=Lorch|title=The Astronomical Instruments of Jabir ibn Aflah and the Torquetum|journal=[[Centaurus (journal)|Centaurus]]|volume=20|issue=1|year=1976|pages=11–34|doi=10.1111/j.1600-0498.1976.tb00214.x|bibcode = 1976Cent...20...11L }}</ref>
* 1119–25 – [[Cairo]] al-Bataihi observatory for [[Al-Afdal Shahanshah]]

===1200s===
* 1259 – [[Maragheh observatory]] and library of [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] built in Persia under [[Hulagu Khan]]
* c. 1270 – Terrace for Managing Heaven 26 observatory network of [[Guo Shoujing]] under [[Khubilai Khan]]
* 1276 – [[Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory|Dengfeng Star Observatory Platform]], Gaocheng, [[Dengfeng]] City, [[Henan]] Province, China

===1300s===
* 1371 – The idea of using hours of equal time length throughout the year in a [[sundial]] was the innovation of [[Ibn al-Shatir]]<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the sundial|url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.353|publisher=[[National Maritime Museum]]|access-date=2008-07-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010044606/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.353|archive-date=2007-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=The Sundial And Geometry|first=Lawrence|last=Jones|journal=North American Sundial Society|volume=12|issue=4|date=December 2005}}</ref>

===1400s===
* 1420 – [[Ulugh Beg Observatory|Samarkand observatory]] of [[Ulugh Beg]]
* 1437 - [[Zij-i Sultani]] is published, the first star catalog since the [[Almagest]]
* 1442 – [[Beijing Ancient Observatory]] in China
* 1467–71 – Observatory at Nagyvarad [[Oradea]], Kingdom of Hungary for [[Matthias Corvinus]]. Tabula Varadensis.
* 1472 – The [[Nuremberg]] observatory of [[Regiomontanus]] and [[Bernhard Walther]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Pedersen|first=Olaf|title=A Survey of the Almagest|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyalmagest00pede|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0387848259|pages=[https://archive.org/details/surveyalmagest00pede/page/n20 20]}}</ref>

===1500s===
* 1560 – [[Kassel]] observatory under Landgrave [[William IV of Hesse|Wilhelm IV of Hesse]]
* 1575–80 – [[Constantinople Observatory of Taqi ad-Din|Constantinople Observatory]] of [[Taqi ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf|Taqi ad-Din]] under Sultan [[Murad III]]
* 1576 – Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory [[Uraniborg]] at [[Ven (Sweden)|Ven]] by [[Tycho Brahe]]
* 1577–80 – Taqi al-Din invents a mechanical [[astronomical clock]] that measures time in seconds, one of the most important innovations in 16th-century practical astronomy, as previous clocks were not accurate enough to be used for astronomical purposes.<ref name="Tekeli">{{cite encyclopedia | first = Sevim | last = Tekeli | title = Taqi al-Din | year = 1997 | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures | publisher = [[Kluwer Academic Publishers]] | isbn = 0-7923-4066-3 | url = https://www.springer.com/philosophy/philosophy+of+sciences/book/978-1-4020-4425-0 }}</ref>
* 1577–80 – Taqi al-Din invents [[Sextant (astronomical)|framed sextant]]<ref name=Tekeli/>
* 1581 – Royal Danish Astronomical Observatory [[Stjärneborg]] at [[Ven (Sweden)|Ven]] by [[Tycho Brahe]]

===1600s===
* 1600 – Prague observatory in [[Benátky nad Jizerou]] by [[Tycho Brahe]]
* 1603 – [[Johann Bayer]]'s ''[[Uranometria]]'' is published
* 1608 – [[Hans Lippershey]] tries to patent an optical [[refracting telescope]], the first recorded functional [[telescope]]
* 1609 – [[Galileo Galilei]] builds his first optical refracting telescope
* 1616 – [[Niccolò Zucchi]] experiments with a [[reflecting telescope]]
* 1633 – Construction of [[Leiden Observatory|Leiden University Observatory]]
* 1641 – [[William Gascoigne (scientist)|William Gascoigne]] invents telescope cross hairs
* 1641 – Danzig/Gdansk observatory of [[Johannes Hevelius|Jan Hevelius]]
* 1642  – [[Rundetårn|Copenhagen University Royal observatory]]
* 1661 – [[James Gregory (astronomer and mathematician)|James Gregory]] proposes an optical reflecting telescope with [[Parabolic reflector|parabolic]] mirrors
* 1667 – [[Paris Observatory]]
* 1668 – [[Isaac Newton]] constructs the first "practical" reflecting telescope, the [[Newtonian telescope]]<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|author=A. Rupert Hall|title=Isaac Newton: Adventurer in Thought|url=https://archive.org/details/isaacnewtonadven0000hall|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-56669-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/isaacnewtonadven0000hall/page/67 67]}}</ref>
* 1672 – [[Laurent Cassegrain]] designs the Cassegrain telescope
* 1675 – [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]] of England
* 1684 – [[Christiaan Huygens]] publishes "Astroscopia Compendiaria" in which he described the design of very long [[aerial telescope]]s

===1700s===
* 1704 – First observatory at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] (based at [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]])
* 1724 – Indian observatory of [[Jai Singh II|Sawai Jai Singh]] at [[Delhi]]
* 1725 – St. Petersburg observatory at Royal Academy
* 1732 – Indian observatories of Sawai Jai Singh at [[Varanasi]], [[Ujjain]], [[Mathura]], [[Madras]]
* 1733 – [[Chester Moore Hall]] invents the [[achromatic lens]] refracting telescope
* 1734 – Indian observatory of Sawai Jai Singh at [[Jaipur]]
* 1753 – Real Observatorio de Cádiz (Spain)
* 1753 – [[Vilnius Observatory]] at [[Vilnius University]], [[Lithuania]]
* 1758 – [[John Dollond]] reinvents the achromatic lens
* 1761 – [[Joseph-Nicolas Delisle]] 62 observing station network for observing the [[transit of Venus]]
* 1769 – [[James Short (mathematician)|Short]] reflectors used at 63 station network for [[transit of Venus]]
* 1774 – [[Vatican Observatory|Vatican Observatory ''(Specola Vaticana)'']], originally established as ''the Observatory of the Roman College''. 
* 1780  – [[Florence]] [[La Specola|Specola]] observatory
* 1789 – [[William Herschel]] finishes a 49-inch (1.2 m) optical reflecting telescope, located in [[Slough]], England
* 1798 – Real Observatorio de la Isla de Léon (actualmente Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada) (Spain)

===1800s===
*1803 [[National Astronomical Observatory (Colombia)]], the first observatory in the [[Americas]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Keenan|first=Philip C.|date=February 1, 1991|title=The Earliest National Observatories in Latin America|journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy|volume=22|issue=1|pages=21–30|bibcode=1991JHA....22...21K|doi=10.1177/002182869102200104|s2cid=117712616 }}</ref>
*1836 Swathithirunal opened Trivandrum observatory
*1839 [[Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre]] (inventor of the [[daguerreotype]] photographic process) attempts to photograph the [[moon]]. Tracking errors in guiding the telescope during the long exposure made the photograph came out as an indistinct fuzzy spot
* 1840 – [[John William Draper]] takes make a successful photographic image of the [[Moon]], the first [[astrophotography|astronomical photograph]]
* 1845 – [[William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse|Lord Rosse]] finishes the Birr Castle [[Leviathan of Parsonstown|{{convert|72|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope]], located in [[Birr, County Offaly|Parsonstown, Ireland]]
* 1849 – Santiago observatory set up by USA, later becomes Chilean National Observatory (now part of the [[University of Chile]])<ref>[http://home.earthlink.net/~claelliott/chron1840.htm Chronology of Science in the United States 1840–1849 (derived from ''Clark A. Elliott, History of Science in the United States: A Chronology and Research Guide'' – New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1996, pp. 34–177)].</ref>
* 1859 –  [[Gustav Kirchhoff|Kirchhoff]] and [[Robert Bunsen|Bunsen]] develop [[spectroscopy]]
* 1864 – [[Alexander Stewart Herschel|Herschel]]'s so-called GC (General Catalogue) of nebulae and star clusters published
* 1868 –  [[Pierre Jules César Janssen|Janssen]] and [[Joseph Norman Lockyer|Lockyer]] discover [[Helium]] observing spectra of [[Sun|the Sun]]
* 1871 – [[Astronomische Gesellschaft|German Astronomical Association]] organized network of 13 (later 16) observatories for stellar proper motion studies
* 1863 – [[William Allen Miller]] and Sir [[William Huggins]] use the photographic [[Wet plate|wet collodion plate]] process to obtain the first ever photographic [[spectrogram]] of a star, [[Sirius]] and [[Capella (star)|Capella]].<ref name="astro-canada.ca">[http://astro-canada.ca/_en/a2311.html Spectrometers, ASTROLab of Mont-Mégantic National Park]</ref>
* 1872 – [[Henry Draper]] photographs a [[optical spectrum|spectrum]] of [[Vega]] that shows [[absorption lines]].<ref name="astro-canada.ca"/>
* 1878 – [[John Louis Emil Dreyer|Dreyer]] published a supplement to the GC of about 1000 new objects, the [[New General Catalogue]]
* 1883 – [[Andrew Ainslie Common]] uses the photographic [[dry plate]] process and a 36-inch (91&nbsp;cm) reflecting telescope in his backyard to record 60 minute exposures of the [[Orion Nebula]] that for the first time showed stars too faint to be seen by the human eye.<ref>{{cite book| author = J. B. Hearnshaw| title = The Measurement of Starlight: Two Centuries of Astronomical Photometry| url = https://archive.org/details/measurementofsta0000hear| url-access = registration| date = 1996-05-02| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-40393-1| page = [https://archive.org/details/measurementofsta0000hear/page/122 122] }}</ref>
* 1887 –  Paris conference institutes ''[[Carte du Ciel]]'' project to map entire sky to 14th magnitude photographically
* 1888 –  First light of [[James Lick telescope|91cm refracting telescope]] at [[Lick Observatory]], on [[Mount Hamilton (California)|Mount Hamilton]] near [[San Jose, California]]
* 1889 –  [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]] founded
* 1890 – [[Albert A. Michelson]] proposes the stellar [[interferometer]]
* 1892 – [[George Ellery Hale]] finishes a [[spectroheliograph]], which allows the [[Sun]] to be photographed in the light of one element only
* 1897 – [[Alvan Clark]] finishes the [[Yerkes telescope|Yerkes {{convert|40|in|m|adj=on}} optical refracting telescope]], located in [[Williams Bay, Wisconsin]]

===1900s===
* 1902 – [[Dominion Observatory]], Ottawa, Ontario, Canada established
* 1904 – Observatories of the [[Carnegie Institution]] of Washington founded
* 1907 – F.C. Brown and [[Joel Stebbins]] develop a selenium cell photometer at the [[University of Illinois Observatory]].

====1910s====
* 1912 – [[Joel Stebbins]] and Jakob Kunz begin to use a photometer using a photoelectric cell at the [[University of Illinois Observatory]].
* 1917 – Mount Wilson {{convert|100|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in [[Mount Wilson Observatory|Mount Wilson, California]]
* 1918 – 1.8m Plaskett Telescope begins operation at the [[Dominion Astrophysical Observatory]], [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], [[British Columbia]], Canada
* 1919 – [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU) founded

====1930s====

* 1930 – [[Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot]] invents the [[coronagraph]]
* 1930 – [[Karl Jansky]] builds a 30-meter long rotating aerial [[radio telescope]] This was the first radio telescope.
* 1933 – [[Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot]] invents the [[Lyot filter]]
* 1934 – [[Bernhard Schmidt]] finishes the first {{convert|14|in|mm|adj=on}} [[Schmidt camera|Schmidt optical reflecting telescope]]
* 1936 – Palomar {{convert|18|in|mm|adj=on}} Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in [[Mount Palomar observatory|Palomar, California]]
* 1937 – [[Grote Reber]] builds a {{convert|31|ft|m|adj=on}} radio telescope

====1940s====

* 1941 – [[Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov]] invents the [[Maksutov telescope]] which is adopted by major observatories in the [[Soviet Union]] and internationally. It is now also a popular design with [[Amateur astronomy|amateur astronomers]]
* 1946 – [[Martin Ryle]] and his group perform the first astronomical observations with a radio interferometer
* 1947 – [[Bernard Lovell]] and his group complete the [[Jodrell Bank]] {{convert|218|ft|m|adj=on}} non-steerable radio telescope
* 1949 – [[Samuel Oschin telescope|Palomar {{convert|48|in|m|adj=on}} Schmidt]] optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California
* 1949 – Palomar {{convert|200|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope ([[Hale Telescope]]) begins regular operation, located in Palomar, California

====1950s====

* 1953 – [[Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center]], [[Yunnan]] Province, in China founded
* 1954 – Earth rotation [[aperture synthesis]] suggested (see e.g. Christiansen and Warburton (1955))
* 1956 – [[Dwingeloo Radio Observatory]] 25 m telescope completed, [[Dwingeloo]], [[Netherlands]]
* 1957 – [[Bernard Lovell]] and his group complete the [[Jodrell Bank]] 250-foot (75 m) steerable radio telescope (the [[Lovell Telescope]])
* 1957 – [[Peter Scheuer]] publishes his P(D) method for obtaining [[source counts]] of spatially unresolved sources
* 1959 – Radio Observatory of the [[University of Chile]], located at [[Maipú, Chile]] founded
* 1959 – The [[Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Sources|3C]] catalogue of radio sources is published (revised in 1962)
* 1959 – The [[C. Donald Shane telescope|Shane {{convert|120|in|m|adj=on}} Telescope]] Opened at [[Lick Observatory]]

====1960s====

* 1960 – [[Owens Valley Radio Observatory|Owens Valley]] 27-meter radio telescopes begin operation, located in [[Big Pine, California]]
* 1961 – [[Parkes Observatory|Parkes 64-metre radio telescope]] begins operation, located near [[Parkes, New South Wales|Parkes]], Australia
* 1962 – [[European Southern Observatory]] (ESO) founded
* 1962 –  [[McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope|Kitt Peak solar observatory]] founded
* 1962 – [[Green Bank, West Virginia]] 90m radio telescope
* 1962 – [[Orbiting Solar Observatory]] 1 satellite launched
* 1963 – [[Arecibo radio telescope|Arecibo 300-meter radio telescope]] begins operation, located in [[Arecibo, Puerto Rico]]
* 1964 – [[Martin Ryle]]'s {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on}} radio [[interferometer]] begins operation, located in [[Cambridge, England]]
* 1965 – Owens Valley 40-meter radio telescope begins operation, located in [[Big Pine, California]]
* 1967 – First [[VLBI]] images, with 183&nbsp;km [[Astronomical interferometer|baseline]]
* 1969 – Observations start at [[Big Bear Solar Observatory]], located in [[Big Bear Lake|Big Bear, California]]
* 1969 – [[Las Campanas Observatory]]

====1970s====

* 1970 – [[Cerro Tololo telescope|Cerro Tololo {{convert|158|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope]] begins operation, located in [[Cerro Tololo]], [[Chile]]
* 1970 – [[Kitt Peak National Observatory]] {{convert|158|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located near [[Tucson, Arizona]]
* 1970 – [[Uhuru (satellite)|Uhuru]] x-ray telescope satellite
* 1970 – [[Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie|Antoine Labeyrie]] performs the first high-resolution optical [[Speckle imaging|speckle interferometry]] observations
* 1970 – [[Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope]] completed, near [[Westerbork (village)|Westerbork]], [[Netherlands]]
* 1972 – 100 m [[Effelsberg]] radio telescope inaugurated ([[Germany]])
* 1973 – [[UK Schmidt Telescope]] 1.2 metre optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in [[Anglo-Australian Observatory]] near [[Coonabarabran]], Australia
* 1974 – [[Anglo-Australian Telescope]] {{convert|153|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in [[Anglo-Australian Observatory]] near [[Coonabarabran]], Australia
* 1975 – Gerald Smith, Frederick Landauer, and James Janesick use a [[Charge-coupled device|CCD]] to observe [[Uranus]], the first astronomical CCD observation
* 1975 – [[Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie|Antoine Labeyrie]] builds the first two-telescope optical [[interferometer]]
* 1976 – The 6-m [[BTA-6]] (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi or “Large Altazimuth Telescope”) goes into operation on Mt. Pashtukhov in the Russian Caucasus
* 1978 – Multiple Mirror {{convert|176|in|m|adj=on}} equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located in [[Amado, Arizona]]
* 1978 – [[International Ultraviolet Explorer]] (IUE) telescope satellite
* 1978  – [[Einstein Observatory|Einstein High Energy Astronomy Observatory]] x-ray telescope satellite
* 1979 – [[UKIRT]] {{convert|150|in|m|adj=on}} infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at [[Mauna Kea Observatory]], Hawaii
* 1979 – [[Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope|Canada-France-Hawaii]] {{convert|140|in|m|adj=on}} optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located at [[Mauna Kea Observatory]], Hawaii
* 1979 – [[NASA Infrared Telescope Facility]][http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/] {{convert|120|in|m|adj=on}} infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii

====1980s====

* 1980 – Completion of construction of the [[Very Large Array|VLA]], located in [[Socorro, New Mexico]]
* 1983 – [[Infrared Astronomical Satellite]] (IRAS) telescope
* 1984 – [[IRAM 30-m]] telescope at [[Veleta (Sierra Nevada)|Pico Veleta]] near [[Granada]], [[Spain]] completed
* 1987 – 15-m [[James Clerk Maxwell Telescope]] UK submillimetre telescope installed at [[Mauna Kea Observatory]]
* 1987 – 5-m Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) installed at the ESO [[La Silla Observatory]]
* 1988 – [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]] aperture synthesis radio telescope begins operation, located near [[Narrabri]], Australia
* 1989 – [[Cosmic Background Explorer]] (COBE) satellite

====1990s====
* 1990 – [[Hubble Space Telescope|Hubble]] 2.4m space Telescope launched, mirror found to be flawed
* 1991 – [[Compton Gamma Ray Observatory]] satellite
* 1993 – [[Keck telescope|Keck 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope]] begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
* 1993 – [[Very Long Baseline Array]] of 10 dishes
* 1995 – [[Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST)]]—the first very high resolution optical astronomical images (from [[aperture synthesis]] observations)
* 1995 – [[Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope]] of thirty 45 m dishes at Pune
* 1996 – [[Keck 2]] 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
* 1997 – The Japanese [[HALCA]] satellite begins operations, producing first [[VLBI]] observations from space, 25,000&nbsp;km maximum baseline
* 1998 – First light at [[Very Large Telescope|VLT]]1, the 8.2 m [[European Southern Observatory|ESO]] telescope

===2000s===

* 2001 – First light at the [[Keck Interferometer]]. Single-baseline operations begin in the near-infrared.
* 2001 – First light at [[VLTI]] interferometry array. Operations on the interferometer start with single-baseline near-infrared observations with the 103 m [[Astronomical interferometer|baseline]].
* 2005 – First imaging with the [[VLTI]] using the AMBER optical aperture synthesis instrument and three [[Very Large Telescope|VLT]] telescopes.
* 2005 – First light at [[Southern African Large Telescope|SALT]], the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, with a hexagonal primary mirror of 11.1 by 9.8 meters.
* 2007 – First light at [[Gran Telescopio Canarias|Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC)]], in Spain, the largest optical telescope in the world with an effective diameter of 10.4 meters.
* 2021 — [[James Webb Space Telescope|James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)]], was launched 25 December 2021 on an ESA Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana and will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship mission in astrophysics.
* 2023 — [[Euclid (spacecraft)|Euclid]], was launched on 1 July 2023 on a [[Falcon 9 Block 5]] rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to study dark matter and energy.
* 2023 — [[X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission|XRISM]] was launched on 6 September 2023 on a [[H-IIA]] rocket to study the formation of the universe and the dark matter.

==Under Construction==
* [[Iranian National Observatory]] 3.4&nbsp;m (first light planned in 2020) <ref>{{cite journal |last1= Khosroshai|first1= Habib|date=1 May 2018 |title= Linking a noble past to future challenges|journal= Nature Astronomy|volume= 2|issue= 5|pages= 429|doi= 10.1038/s41550-018-0465-5|bibcode= 2018NatAs...2..429K|doi-access= free}}</ref>
*[[Extremely Large Telescope]] (first light planned in 2027)

==Planned==
{{Further|Category:Telescopes under construction}}
*[[Public Telescope|Public Telescope (PST)]], German project of astrofactum. Launch was planned for 2019,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publictelescope.org |title=Public Telescope: Erstes öffentliches Weltraumteleskop |work=astrofactum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109044959/http://www.publictelescope.org/ |archive-date=9 November 2017 |access-date=8 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lossau |first=Norbert |url=https://www.welt.de/print/wams/wissen/article130596441/Weltraumteleskop-fuer-jedermann.html |title=Weltraumteleskop für jedermann |work=[[Welt (German TV channel)|Welt]] |date=27 July 2014 |access-date=8 October 2019 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wiederer |first=Christian |url=http://www.publictelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-02-Popular-Astronomy-UK.pdf |title=The first public space telescope |work=[[Popular Astronomy (UK magazine)|Popular Astronomy UK]] |date=February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171015/http://www.publictelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-02-Popular-Astronomy-UK.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=8 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but the project's website is now defunct and no updates have been provided on the fate of the effort.
* Mid/late-2021 – Science first light of the [[Vera C. Rubin Observatory]] is anticipated for 2021 with full science operations to begin a year later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vera C. Rubin Observatory |url=https://www.aura-astronomy.org/centers/nsfs-oir-lab/rubinobservatory/ |website=AURA Astronomy |access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Katherine J. |title=For the First Time, a National U.S. Observatory Has Been Named for a Female Astronomer: Vera Rubin |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-telescope-facility-renamed-commemorate-dark-matter-scientist-vera-rubin-180973923/ |access-date=16 September 2020 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=What Does the Future of Astronomy Hold? We'll Find Out Soon |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/what-does-the-future-of-astronomy-hold-well-find-out-soon |access-date=16 September 2020 |work=Discover Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope]], part of NASA's [[Exoplanet Exploration Program]]. Launch is tentatively scheduled for 2027.

==See also==
* [[Timeline of telescope technology]]
* [[List of largest optical telescopes historically]]
* [[Extremely large telescope]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book| author = Michael A. Hoskin| title = The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy| year = 1997| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-41158-5 }}
* {{cite book| author = Edgardo Marcorini| title = Scienza e tecnica| year = 1988| publisher = Facts on File| isbn = 978-0-87196-475-5 }}
* {{cite book| author = George Ochoa| author2 = Melinda Corey| title = The Wilson Chronology of Science and Technology: A Record of Scientific Discovery and Technological Invention, from the Stone Age to the Information Age| year = 1997| publisher = New York : H.W. Wilson| isbn = 978-0-8242-0933-9| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/wilsonchronology00ocho_0}}
* {{cite book| author = Rushdī Rāshid|author2=Régis Morelon | title = Encyclopedia of History of Arabic Science: Astronomy- theoretical and applied| year = 1996| publisher = Psychology Press| isbn = 978-0-415-12410-2 }}

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