📡 CfA 1.2 m Millimeter-Wave Telescope

The 1.2 meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and its twin instrument originally at CTIO in Chile and currently at the National Astronomical Observatory in Cerro Calán have been studying the distribution and properties of molecular clouds in our galaxy and its nearest neighbours since the 1970s. The telescope is nicknamed "The Mini" because of its unusually small size. At the time it was built, it was the smallest radio telescope in the world. Together, "The Mini" and its twin in Chile have obtained what is by far the most extensive, uniform, and widely used galactic survey of interstellar carbon monoxide. "The Mini" is currently in operation from October to May each year.