The physically largest solar telescopes are fixed telescopes with very long focal lengths. These provide the most convenient arrangements for performing experiments. In the list these are designated as tower telescopes. Spar telescopes (by "spar" we mean a telescope in which the first focus moves around rather than being at a fixed observing table) of the same aperture can provide equal resolution, however. With coude feed optics, spar telescopes can also provide fixed laboratory spaces as tower telescopes do.
This list is incomplete. First we list telescopes with aperture of 50 cm or larger, then some smaller telescopes of interest.
| Name | Type | Ap. | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under construction or proposed | ||||
| DKIST | RS | 424cm | 2020? | Haleakala |
| EST | RS | 4 meters | ? | Canary Islands |
| CLST | RS | 176cm (clear aperture) | ? | western China |
| CGST | RS | 500 - 800 cm | ? | western China |
| National Large Solar Telescope | RS | 200cm | ? | Ladakh, India |
| COSMO | RS | 150cm | ? | Mauna Loa, Hawaii |
| Operational as of April 2019 | ||||
| GREGOR | RS | 150cm | 2010 | Tenerife |
| BBSO GST | RS | 160cm | 2009 | Big Bear | SST (Swedish Solar Telescope) | rT | 100cm | 2002 | La Palma |
| Fuxian Solar Observatory NVST | RS | 98cm | 2013 | Fuxian Lake, China |
| Sunrise | Rb | 100cm | 2007 | New Mexico |
| Themis | RT | 90cm | 1996 | Tenerife |
| Crimea | RT | 90cm | 1973 | Crimea, Ukraine |
| Sayan | RT | 80cm | 1979 | Sayan, Russia |
| Baikal LVT | rT | 76cm | 1978 | Lake Baikal, Russia |
| SPO VTT (now Dunn Telescope or DST) | RT | 76cm | 1969 | Sunspot |
| German VTT (Vacuum Tower Telescope) | RT | 70cm | 1987 | Tenerife | Snow telescope | RT | 61cm | 1904 | Mt. Wilson |
| Einsteinturm (Einstein Tower) | rT | 60cm | 1924 | Potsdam, Germany |
| Hida Domeless Solar Telescope | RT | 60cm | 1979 | Takayama, Gifu, Japan |
| Meudon | RT | 60cm | 1968 | Meudon, France |
| Huairou Multi-Channel Telescope | RS | 60cm | 1994 | Huairou, China |
| Crimea coronagraph | cS | 53cm | Crimea, Ukraine | |
| Sayan coronagraph | cS | 53cm | Sayan, Russia | |
| Hinode (Solar-B) | Rs | 50cm | 2006 | low Earth orbit |
| SOLIS VSM (vector magnetograph) | RS | 50cm | 2004 | Temporarily not in service, being installed at Big Bear. |
| Solar-C (off-axis coronagraph) | CS | 50cm | 2001 | Haleakala |
| Yunnan Solar Spectral Telescope | RS | 50cm | Kunming, China | |
| Abastumani coronagraph | cS | 50cm | Abastumani, Georgia | |
| Pic du Midi | rS | 50cm | 1972 | Pic du Midi, France |
| Other solar telescopes of interest | ||||
| SDO HMI | rs | 14cm | 2010 | geosynchronous orbit |
| Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) | RS | 45cm | 1997 | La Palma |
| KIS tower refractor | rT | 45cm | Schauinsland, Germany (nr. Freiburg) | |
| German VNT (Vacuum Newton Telescope) | R | 40cm | Tenerife | |
| Marshall SFC | RS | 30cm | Huntsville | |
| Mt. Wilson 150-foot tower | rT | 30cm | 1912 | Mt. Wilson |
| Mees IVM (vector magnetograph) | rS | 28cm | 1992 | Haleakala |
| Mees coronagraph | cS | 25cm | Haleakala | |
| Mt. Wilson 60-foot tower | rT | 1907 | Mt. Wilson | |
| SMART | rS | 2x25cm, 2x20cm | 2003 | Hida Observatory, Japan |
| SOHO MDI | rs | 12cm | 1995 | L1 Lagrange point |
| GONG | rT | 3cm | 1995 | Big Bear, Mauna Loa, Learmonth, Udaipur, Tenerife, Cerro Tololo |
| No longer in service | ||||
| McMath-Pierce Telescope (shut down 2018) | ||||
| Main | RT | 160cm | 1962 | Kitt Peak |
| East Auxiliary | RT | 81cm | 1962 | Kitt Peak |
| West Auxiliary | RT | 81cm | 1962 | Kitt Peak |
| San Fernando Observatory (closed 2016) | RS | 61cm | 1969 | Sylmar |
| Evans Solar Facility (coronagraph, closed 2014) | cS | 40cm | 1953 | Sunspot |
| TRACE (not visible light, shut down 2010) | Rs | 30cm | 1998 | low Earth orbit |
| Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope (replaced by SOLIS VSM) | RT | 70cm | 1973 | Kitt Peak |
| BBSO (removed 2006, replaced by GST) | RS | 65cm | 1973 | Big Bear |
| Swedish VTT (Vacuum Tower Telescope, replaced by SST) | rT | 50cm | 1985 | La Palma |
| McGregor 75-foot tower telescope, operation ended 1979 | RT | 1940 | Lake Angelus, Michigan | |
| 50-foot tower, McMath-Hulbert Observatory, operation ended 1979 | RT | 40cm | 1936 | Lake Angelus, Michigan |
| 10.5 inch, McMath-Hulbert Observatory, replaced in 1941 | RS | 26cm | 1930 | Lake Angelus, Michigan |
| German GCT (Gregory Coude Telescope, replaced by GREGOR) | R | 45cm | Tenerife | |
| BBSO "10 inch" (removed 2006, replaced by GST) | rS | 25cm | 1970 | Big Bear |
Type:
r = refractor
R = reflector
c = refractor coronagraph
C = reflector coronagraph
b = balloon
s = spacecraft
S = spar (or some other type of pointed telescope)
T = tower (generally a fixed telescope with a heliostat, coelostat, or turret)
For example, RT means a reflecting tower (or other fixed) telescope and Rs means a reflecting telescope on a spacecraft.
u.c. = under construction
U.S. solar telescope locations:
Kitt Peak is in Arizona.
Sunspot is in New Mexico.
Big Bear, Mt. Wilson, and Sylmar are in California.
Haleakala is on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
Mauna Loa is on the island of Hawaii in Hawaii.
Huntsville is in Alabama.
Other popular locations:
La Palma and Tenerife are in the Canary Islands which belong to Spain.
Learmonth is in Australia.
Cerro Tololo is in Chile.
Udaipur is in India.
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