List of large optical telescopes

This is a list of large optical telescopes. For telescopes larger than 3 meters in aperture see List of largest optical reflecting telescopes. This list combines large or expensive reflecting telescopes from any era, as what constitutes famous reflector has changed over time. In 1900 a 1-meter reflector would be among the largest in the world, but by 2000, would be relatively common for professional observatories.

Large reflectors and catadioptric

See List of largest optical reflecting telescopes for continuation of list to larger scopes

Name	Image	Aperture	Mirror type	Nationality / Sponsors	Site	Built
Harlan J. Smith Telescope			Single	USA	McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA	1969
UBC-Laval LMT			Liquid	Canada	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	1992–2016
Shajn 2.6m "Crimean 102 in."			Single		Crimean Astrophysical Obs., Russia/Ukraine	1961
VLT Survey Telescope			Single	Italy + ESO countries	Paranal Observatory, Antofagasta Region, Chile	2007
BAO 2.6			Single		Byurakan Astrophysical Obs., Mt. Aragatz, Armenia	1976
Nordic Optical Telescope			Single	Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Finland	ORM, Canary Islands, Spain	1988
Javalambre Survey Telescope			Single	International	Javalambre Observatory, Spain	TBA
Isaac Newton Telescope			Single	UK	ORM, Canary Islands, Spain	1984
Irenee du Pont Telescope			Single	USA	Las Campanas Observatory, Coquimbo Region, Chile	1976
Hooker 100-Inch Telescope			Single	USA	Mt. Wilson Observatory, California, USA	1917
Kawkasskaja gornaja observatory GAISCH MGU			Single	Russia	, Russia	2014
SOFIA			Single	USA + Germany	Boeing 747SP	2007
Sloan DSS			Single	USA	Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, USA	1997
Hiltner Telescope			Single	USA	MDM Observatory, Arizona, USA	1986
Thai National Telescope			Single	Thailand + SEAAN	Thai National Observatory, Doi Inthanon, Thailand	2013
Lijiang			Single	China	Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, China	2008
Hubble			Single	NASA+ESA	Low Earth orbit	1990
2.4-meter SINGLE Telescope			Single	USA	Magdalena Ridge Observatory, New Mexico, USA	2006/2008
Automated Planet Finder			Single	USA	Lick Observatory, California, USA	2010
Vainu Bappu			Single	India	Vainu Bappu Observatory, Tamil Nadu, India	1986
Aristarchos			Single	ESO Countries + Greece	Chelmos Observatory, Greece	2004
WIRO 2.3			Single IR	USA	Wyoming Infrared Observatory, Wyoming, USA	1977
ANU 2.3m ATT			Single		Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia	1984
Bok Telescope			Single	USA	Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA	1969
University of Hawaii 2.2 m			Single	USA	Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, USA	1970
MPIA-ESO			Single	West Germany	La Silla Observatory, Coquimbo Region, Chile	1984
MPIA-CAHA 2.2m			Single	West Germany	Calar Alto Observatory, Almería, Spain	1979
Xinglong 2.16m			Single	PRC (China)	Xinglong, China	1989
Jorge Sahade 2.15m	50px		Single		Leoncito Astronomical Complex, San Juan Province, Argentina	1987
INAOE 2.12			Single	Mexico + USA	Guillermo Haro Observatory, Sonora, Mexico	1987
UNAM 2.12			Single		National Astronomical Observatory, Baja California, Mexico	1979
Fraunhofer-Teleskop				Ger	Observatorium Wendelstein, Deutschland	2012
Kitt Peak 2.1-meter			Single	USA	Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA	1964
Otto Struve Telescope			Single	USA	McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA	1939
T13 Automated Spectroscopic Telescope			Single	USA	Fairborn Observatory, Arizona, USA	2003
Himalayan Chandra Telescope			Single		Indian Astronomical Observatory, India	2000
Alfred-Jensch-Teleskop			Single	East Germany	Karl Schwarzschild Observatory, Germany	1960
Carl Zeiss Jena			Single		Shamakhi Astrophysical Obs., Azerbaijan	1966
Ondřejov 2-m			Single	Czechoslovakia	Ondřejov Observatory, Czech	1967
Ritchey-Chretien-Coude			Single	Bulgaria	Rozhen Observatory, Bulgaria	1984
Carl Zeiss Jena			Single	Ukraine, Russia	, Russia	1995
Bernard Lyot Telescope			Single	France	Pic du Midi Obs., France	1980
Liverpool Telescope			Single	UK	ORM, Canary Islands, Spain	2003
Faulkes Telescope North			Single	UK	Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, USA	2003
Faulkes Telescope South			Single	UK	Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia	2001
NAYUTA			Single	Japan	Nishi-Harima Observatory, Hyogo, Japan	2004
Multicolor [Active Galactic Nuclei Monitoring\|MAGNUM]			Single IR	Japan	Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, USA	2001–2008

Selected telescopes below about 2 meters aperture

A non-comprehensive non-exclusionary list of telescopes one yard to less than 2 metres in aperture.

Name	Aperture m	Aper. in	Mirror type	Nationality of Sponsors	Site	Built
OHP 1.93	1.93 m	76″	Single	France	Haute-Provence Observatory, France	1958
74 inch (1.9 m) Radcliffe Telescope	1.88 m	74″	Single		South African Astronomical Observatory Sutherland Radcliffe Observatory, Pretoria, South Africa	1950
1.88 m telescope	1.88 m	74″	Single	Japan	Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, Japan	1960
DDO 1.88 m	1.88 m	74″	Single	Canada	David Dunlap Observatory, Ontario, Canada	1935
74" reflector	1.88 m	74″	Single	Australia	Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australian Capital Territory, Australia	1955–2003
Kottamia telescope 1.88 m	1.88 m	74″	Single	Egypt	Egypt	1960
Sandy Cross Telescope	1.85 m	73”	Single	Canada	Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, Alberta, Canada	1986
SETI Optical Telescope	1.83 m	72″	Single	USA	Oak Ridge Observatory, Massachusetts, USA	2006
Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope	1.83 m	72″	Single	Vatican City	Mount Graham International Observatory, Arizona, USA	1993
72-Inch Perkins Telescope	1.83 m	72″	Single	USA	Lowell Observatory, Arizona, USA	1964
Plaskett telescope	1.83 m	72″	Single	Canada	Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, British Columbia, Canada	1918
Leviathan of Parsonstown	1.83 m	72″	Metal	Great Britain	Birr Castle; Ireland Historical recreation	1845
Copernico 1.82 m	1.82 m	72″	Single	Italy	Asiago Observatory, Italy	1973
1.8 meter telescope	1.80 m	71″	Single	China	Gaomeigu site of Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, China	2009
Pan-STARRS PS1	1.8 m	71″	Single	Germany, Taiwan, US, UK	Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, USA	2007
VLT Auxiliary Telescopes	1.80 m	71″	Single	Europe	Paranal Observatory, Antofagasta Region, Chile	2006
Spacewatch 1.8-meter Telescope	1.80 m	71″	Single	USA	Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA	2001
1.8m Ritchey Cretien reflector	1.80 m	72″	Single	Korea	Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory, Korea	1996
Largest amateur telescope in 2013	1.778 m	70″	Single	USA	Utah, USA	2013
69-inch Perkins Telescope	1.75 m	69″	Single	USA	Perkins Observatory, Ohio, USA	1931–1964
1.65 m telescope	1.65 m	65″	Single		Molėtai Astronomical Obs., Lithuania	1991
McMath–Pierce solar telescope	1.61 m	63″	Single	USA	Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA	1962
BBO NST	1.60 m	63″	Solar	USA	Big Bear Solar Observatory, California, USA	2009
AZT-33	1.60 m	63″	Single		, Siberia, Russia	1981
1.6 m Perkin Elmer	1.60 m	63″	Single	Brazil	Pico dos Dias Observatory, Minas Gerais, Brazil	1981
Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic	1.60 m	63″	Single IR	Canada	Mont Mégantic Observatory, Québec, Canada	1978
1.56m optical telescope	1.56 m	62″	Single	China	Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China	1988
Kaj Strand Telescope	1.55 m	61″	Single	USA	USNO Flagstaff Station, Arizona, USA	1964
61" Kuiper Telescope	1.55 m	61″	Single	USA	Steward Observatory, Arizona, USA	1965
Oak Ridge Observatory 61" reflector	1.55 m	61″	Single	USA	Oak Ridge Observatory, Massachusetts, USA	1933
Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre	1.54 m	60.6″	Single	Argentina	Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre, Argentina	1942
Toppo Telescope No.1	1.537 m	60.5″	Single	Italy	Astronomical Observatory of Castelgrande, Italy	2008
Harvard 60-inch Reflector	1.524 m	60″	Single	USA	Harvard College Observatory, Massachusetts, USA	1905–1931
Hale 60-Inch Telescope	1.524 m	60″	Single	USA	Mt. Wilson Observatory, California, USA	1908
Dunn Solar Telescope ex-VTT	1.524 m	60″	Single	USA	National Solar Observatory, New Mexico, USA	1969
FLWO 1.5m Tillinghast	1.52 m	60″	Single	USA	F. L. Whipple Observatory, Arizona	1994
Telescopio Carlos Sánchez	1.52 m	60″	Single	UK + Spain	Teide Observatory, Canary Islands, Spain	1971
OHP 1.52	1.52 m	60″	Single	France	Haute-Provence Obs., France	1967
Mt. Lemmon 60" Dahl-Kirkham Telescope	1.52 m	60″	Single IR	USA	Steward Obs., Arizona, USA	1970
Steward Observatory 60" Cassegrain Telescope	1.52 m	60″	Single	USA	Steward Obs., Arizona, USA	1960s
OAN 1.52 m	1.52 m	60″	Single	Spain	Calar Alto Observatory, Almería, Spain	1970s
1.52 m G.D. Cassini	1.52 m	60″	Single	Italy	Mount Orzale, Loiano, Italy	1976
Leopold Figl Observatory	1.50 m	59″	Single	Austria	Mitterschöpfl, Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve, Austria	1970
TIRGO Gornergrat Infrared Telescope	1.50 m	59″	Single IR	Italy + Switzerland	Hochalpine Forschungsstation Jungfraujoch und Gornergrat, Alps, Switzerland	1979–2005
AZT-22	1.50 m	59″	Single		Mount Maidanak, Uzbekistan	1972
RTT150	1.50 m	59″	Single	Russia + Turkey	TÜBİTAK National Obs., Turkey
AZT-20	1.50 m	59″	Single		Assy-Turgen Observatory, Kazakhstan
AZT-12	1.50 m	59″	Single	Estonia	Tartu Observatory, Estonia	1976
Hexapod-Telescope (HPT)	1.50 m	59″	Single	Germany	Cerro Armazones Observatory, Antofagasta Region, Chile	2005
OSN 1.5m	1.50 m	59″	Single	Spain	Sierra Nevada Observatory, Granada, Spain
Persona-1 (C.2441)	1.50 m	59″	Korsch	Russia	Earth Orbit	2008
GREGOR solar/night telescope	1.50 m	59″	Single	Germany	Teide Observatory, Tenerife, Spain	2012
IRSF 1.4m	1.40 m		Single		Sutherland, South Africa Astronomical Observatory	2000
TCC	1.40 m		Single		38°10'12"N 20°36'36"E	2010
ESO Coudé Auxiliary Telescope	1.40 m		Single		La Silla, Chile	1981
Ruths Telescope	1.37 m	53.9″	Metal	Italy	Merate Obs., Merate, Italy	1968
SkyMapper	1.35 m	53.15″	Single	Australia	Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia	2008
USNOFS 1.3m	1.30 m	51″	Single	USA	USNO Flagstaff Station, Arizona, USA	1998
Skalnaté pleso Observatory	1.30 m		Single	Slovakia	Skalnaté pleso Observatory, Astronomical Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia	2014
	1.30 m		Single	Greece	Skinakas Observatory, Island of Crete, Greece	1995
McGraw-Hill Telescope	1.27 m	50″	Single	USA	MDM Observatory, Arizona, USA Dexter, Michigan, USA	1969
1.26m infrared telescope	1.26 m	49.5"	Single	China	Xinglong Station, China	1991
Herschel 40-foot	1.26 m	49.5″	Metal	Great Britain + Ireland	Observatory House; England	1789–1815
AZT-11	1.25 m	49″	Single		Abastumani Observatory, Rep. of Georgia	1976
AZT-11	1.25 m	49″	Single		Crimean Astrophysical Obs., Russia/Ukraine	1981
MPIA 1.2	1.23 m	48.4″	Single	West Germany+Spain	Calar Alto Obs., Alemíra, Spain	1975
T-122	1.22 m	48″	Schmidt	Turkey	ÇOMÜ Ulupınar Observatory, Çanakkale, Turkey	2002
Galileo 1.22 m	1.22 m	48″	Single	Italy	Asiago Observatory, Italy	1942
Samuel Oschin telescope	1.22 m	48″	Schmidt	USA	Palomar Observatory, California, USA	1948
Great Melbourne Telescope	1.22 m	48″	Metal	Great Britain	Melbourne Observatory, Victoria, Australia	1878–1889
William Lassell 48-inch	1.22 m	48″	Metal	Great Britain	Malta	1861–1865
Barabarella	1.22 m	48″	Single	USA	Lowrey Observatory, Texas, USA	2008
Babelsberg Zeiss	1.20 m	47″	Single	Germany	Babelsberg Observatory, Berlin, Germany	1924–1947
Oskar-Lühning Telescope	1.20 m	47″	Single	Germany	Hamburg Observatory, Germany	1975
Leonhard Euler Telescope	1.20 m	47″	Single	Switzerland	La Silla Observatory, Coquimbo Region, Chile	1998
Mercator Telescope	1.20 m	47″	Single	Belgium+Switzerland	ORM, Canary Islands, Spain	2001
Hamburg Robotic Telescope	1.20 m	47″	Single	Germany	Hamburg-Bergdorf Obs., Germany	2002
UK Schmidt Telescope	1.20 m	47″	Schmidt	UK	Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia	1973
GeoEye-1	1.10 m	43.3″	Single	USA	Earth Orbit	2008
Hänssgen's reflector	1.07 m	42″	Single	Germany	Mobile	2002
KLENOT	1.06 m	42″	Single	Czech Republic	Kleť Observatory, Czech Republic	2002
Nickel Telescope	1.02 m	40″	Single	USA	Lick Observatory, California, USA	1979
UTAS 40-inch	1.02 m	40"	R/C	Australia	Mount Canopus, Tasmania, Australia	1973
George Ritchey 40-inch	1.02 m	40″	R/C	USA	USNO Flagstaff Station, Arizona, USA	1934
Yerkes "41-inch"	1.02 m	40″	Single	USA	Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin, USA	1968
Zeiss di Merate	1.02 m	40″	Single	Kingdom of Italy	Merate Obs., Merate, Italy	1926
ZIMLAT	1.00 m	39.4″	Single	Switzerland	Zimmerwald Obs., Switzerland	1997
Meudon Observatory 1m	1.00 m	39.4″	Single	France	Meudon Observatory/ Paris Observatory	1891
Lulin One-meter Telescope	1.00 m	39.4"	Single	Taiwan	Lulin Observatory, Taiwan	2002
Vihorlat national telescope	1.00 m	39.4"	single	Slovakia	Astronomical observatory on Kolonický mountain pass, Slovakia	-
Wise one-meter telescope	1.00 m	39.4"	single	Israel	Wise Observatory, Israel	1973
SAAO 1-meter Elizabeth Telescope	1.00m	39.4″	Single	South Africa	South African Astronomical Observatory Cape Town, South Africa Sutherland, South Africa	1962
Near-Earth Object Survey Telescope	1.00 m	39.4"	Single	China	Purple Mountain Observatory, China	2006
RT 1.00 m	1.00 m	39.4″			TÜBİTAK National Observatory
OGS Telescope	1.00 m	39.4″	Single	European Space Agency countries	Teide Observatory, Canary Islands, Spain	1995
Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope	1.00 m	39.4″	Single	UK + Netherlands	Isaac Newton Group, Canary Islands, Spain	1984
T1M	1.00 m	39.4″	Cassegrain	France	Lyon Observatory, Saint-Genis-Laval, France	1970s
Hamburg Spiegelteleskop	1.00 m	39.4″	Single	Deutsches Reich	Hamburg-Bergdorf Obs., Germany	1911
Kepler Mission telescope	0.95 m	37.4″	Single	USA	Earth-trailing Orbit	2009
James Gregory Telescope	0.94 m	37"	Single	Great Britain	University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK	1962
Kuiper Airborne Obs.	0.914 m	36″	Single	USA	C-141	1974–1995
Crossley Reflector	0.914 m	36″	Single	US+UK	Lick Observatory, California, USA	1896
A.A. Common Reflector	0.914 m	36″	Single	Great Britain	Great Britain	1880–1896
Rosse 36-inch Telescope	0.914 m	36″	Metal	Great Britain	Birr Castle; Ireland	1826
SMARTS 0.9m Telescope	0.914 m	36″	Single	USA, SMARTS	Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Coquimbo Region, Chile	1965
Spacewatch 0.9m Telescope	0.914 m	36″	Single	USA	Steward Observatory enclave at Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA	Contracted 1915, Completed 1921
Yapp telescope	0.914 m	36″	Single	U.K.	Royal Observatory, Greenwich +Herstmonceux	1934-1990