The Carnegie Institution for Science has announced a $34.8 million gift from an anonymous donor in support of advancing cutting-edge astronomical and astrophysical research at the institution’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

The largest gift to the institution since Andrew Carnegie founded it in 1902 will enable the on-site design and development of new instruments for the observatory’s current twin Magellan telescopes as well as the Giant Magellan Telescope, which will be the most powerful telescope on Earth when completed later this decade. The telescope—one of the largest public-private funded science projects in history—is expected to have a resolving power 10 times that of the Hubble Space Telescope and four times that of the James Webb Space Telescope.

In addition, the gift will be used to expand the number of scientist positions across the Carnegie observatories, leveraging long-term support to pursue projects at the pace of discovery. The new staff will be the first expansion in the number of scientist positions since the days of Edwin Hubble, who died in 1953.

“Since George Ellery Hale built the first telescope on Mount Wilson, Carnegie has played a forefront role in some of the most important astronomical discoveries of the modern era,” said Carnegie president Eric D. Isaacs. “This transformative gift will empower new generations of Carnegie astronomers to reveal the physics that underpins the cosmos. It provides a foundation for the next era of Carnegie astronomy—one that will be as exciting and impactful as our first century.”

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