Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope

telescope, Hawaii, United States

Also known as: Gemini North

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June 17, 2026

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The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope, also known as Gemini North, is one of two 8.1-meter telescopes that make up the Gemini Observatory. It is located on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii, United States. The other telescope, Gemini South, is in Chile.

These telescopes are optimized for observing infrared light and are equipped with adaptive optics to counteract atmospheric distortion. The Gemini Observatory is funded by a consortium of seven countries, including the United States. Astronomers using these telescopes have made discoveries about stars with planets and the geology of Pluto's moon Charon. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) manages the Gemini Observatory telescopes for the National Science Foundation.12

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Gemini Observatory
1-metre (27-foot) telescopes: the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope (also called Gemini North), located on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea (4,213 metres [13,822 feet]) on the island of Hawaii in the Northern Hemisphere, and Gemini South, located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory on Cerro Pachon (2,725 metres [8,940…
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1-metre (27-foot) telescopes: the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope (also called Gemini North), located on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea (4,213 metres [13,822 feet]) on the island of Hawaii in the Northern Hemisphere, and Gemini South, located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory on Cerro Pachon (2,725 metres [8,940…
Read More