They will also be drawing upon the knowledge gained from the CFHT as they look to the future of Canadian astronomy and astrophysics. The CFHT, located on the barren and frigid 4200-metre summit of Mauna Kea, is celebrating over two decades of scientific discovery and technological innovation. It is marking its 21st birthday with events that include an open house, lectures and scientific meetings that celebrate the past, present, and future of a scientific facility that, a recent study has shown, has been the most scientifically productive 4 metre telescope in the world. The CFHT, which is a collaboration of Canada, France and the University of Hawaii, was the first large telescope to be constructed on Mauna Kea.
Modern astronomy is technology-driven.
These advances have strengthened Canadian science and industry and are paving the way for a new generation of astronomical observatories. Working together, Canadian scientists and companies, notably AGRA-Coast of Port Coquitlam, B.C., have built upon the CFHT experience to establish leadership positions in observatory construction and technology around the world. Canadian and French scientists, for example, developed an innovative instrument for CFHT in the early 1990's that was able to obtain spectra of over 100 distant galaxies at once. This technology enabled Canadian astronomers to undertake several groundbreaking research studies into the evolution of distant galaxies and the distribution of mass in clusters of galaxies. Canadians also developed a camera for CFHT that produced high-resolution images by incorporating technology that corrects for the blurring caused by the atmosphere.