The Giant Magellan Telescope

Plans for an enormous new telescope in Chile took a major step forward this week with a $50 million infusion from the University of Chicago to aid the observatory's construction.

The new observatory, called the Giant Magellan Telescope, is designed to detect objects 100 times fainter than those seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The University of Chicago funds will help cover the anticipated $700 million cost for the telescope, which astrophysicists hope will be able to collect valuable data needed to make strides in understanding dark matter and dark energy, the project's planners said.

The Giant Magellan Telescope will consist of six circular mirrors, each 28 feet (8.4 meters) across, set in a flower-petal arrangement around a seventh central mirror to make up the GMT's main mirror.

Together, the mirrors form the equivalent of a nearly 82-foot (24.5-meter) telescope. The new telescope will be built at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, and should take about seven years to complete.