The Gran Telescopio Canarias, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, has a segmented primary mirror 10.4 m in diameter and has been the largest operational single optical telescope in the world since it began operations in 2009.
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The Gran Telescopio Canarias, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, has a segmented primary mirror 10.4 m in diameter and has been the largest operational single optical telescope in the world since it began operations in 2009.
The greatest primary mirror diameter of any ground-based optical telescope currently in operation. Larger telescopes (the 39 m Extremely Large Telescope and 25.4 m Giant Magellan Telescope) are under construction but not yet operational as of 2026.
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Limits Registry. LR-LARGEST-TELESCOPE-MIRROR-GROUND. Largest operational ground-based telescope mirror. 2026.