Telescopes and Observatories

Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-m Telescope (CFHT)

An optical telescope, CFHT began operating in 1979 as a partnership between Canada, France and the University of Hawaii. CFHT pioneered techniques, including "adaptive optics", to remove the twinkle from stars caused by the continual motions of the Earth's atmosphere, thus making CFHT renowned for very sharp images.

For Canadian astronomers, CFHT has played critical roles in their studies of massive black holes in the centres of galaxies, the evolution of stars, and in demonstrating that the universe will expand forever.