Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory is putting the finishing touches on the
Discovery Channel Telescope. Local astronomers say the giant new
machine will catapult Lowell to the cutting edge of astronomy
research, solidify its legacy, and offer unprecedented views of the
Heavens to more than a billion Discovery Channel viewers.
The Discovery Channel Telescope, or DCT, stands seven stories high on
Lowell Observatory’s Happy Jack site about 40 miles southeast of
Flagstaff. When it’s finished in the spring, the DCT will be the fifth
largest telescope in the continental United States, with a primary
mirror 4 meters, or about 14 feet, across. But as Lowell Observatory
director Jeff Hall explains, its significance goes beyond its size.
