The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer will be an optical array composed of ten telescopes, each approximately 1.4 meters in diameter. The telescopes making up the interferometer will be spaced by distances of up to 400 meters and will be optically linked in order to image astronomical objects with great detail—this configuration will simulate the resolving power of a single telescope up to 400 meters in diameter. As a result of the large number of telescopes in the array, the interferometer will be able to make accurate images of complex astronomical objects many times faster than other existing and planned arrays.

It will be located in the Magdalena mountains of Socorro county, central New Mexico near South Baldy peak and the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research.

The following institutions are involved in the design and construction:

• New Mexico Tech (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology)
• University of Cambridge Cavendish Astrophysics Group
• Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
• New Mexico State University
• New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU)
• University of Puerto Rico (UPR)

The project is overseen by the United States Naval Research Laboratory .

External links

• Magdalena Ridge Observatory is the official project website.