Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope

The Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope is a high-altitude optical and infrared observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island, operating since 1979 through a partnership among the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Canada’s National Research Council, and France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Supported by additional international partners, it provides observing access across seven countries and the European Union through OPTICON. Its major instruments support wide-field imaging, infrared observation, spectroscopy, and spectropolarimetry, giving it an important role in studying stars and planetary systems. In March 2025, its astronomers announced 128 new moons of Saturn, and the telescope is expected to keep operating into the 2030s.

Paauilo, Hawaii · United States