A World-class Telescope on the Zugspitze
06/25/2025A new radio telescope on Germany's highest mountain is set to uncover secrets in the depths of space. Professor Matthias Kadler from the JMU Chair of Astronomy is in charge of the project.
Among other things, the Wetterstein Millimetre Telescope (WMT) will take pictures of black holes, investigate the formation of Earth-like planets around other stars, but also map space debris in Earth's orbit and support the critical geodetic infrastructure for monitoring the Earth's climate.
To mark the occasion, around 60 international participants from various fields of science and technology met on 23 and 24 June 2025 for a workshop at the Schneefernerhaus research station on the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain.
The telescope is an interdisciplinary research platform at the Schneefernerhaus Environmental Research Station (UFS). It can be used by researchers in the fields of geodesy, radar for space situational awareness, atmospheric physics, testing new radio-frequency technology, receiver technologies, digitality, astronomy and much more. This will generate new complementary research projects.
Background to the WMT
The WMT is the prototype of a newly developed type of telescope, of which more than 260 are to be built in North America over the next few decades. As a German contribution, the WMT is designed to be so flexible that it will stand out in a global network with this next-generation Very Large Array and other telescopes of the latest generation in Africa and in a European network.
A unique selling point is the excellent observation site on the Zugspitzplatt at an altitude of around 2500 metres. The UFS Schneefernerhaus provides the ideal infrastructure for operating the telescope.
In addition, the WMT will enable close cooperation with German industry and, as a pilot project, is expected to indirectly generate sales in the three-digit million range for Germany with a view to long-term major orders.
The WMT will make Garmisch-Partenkirchen even more attractive as a research location. Alongside the KIT Campus Alpin, the UFS and the future Geriatronics Campus of the Technical University of Munich, the telescope at the highest point in Germany will be a widely visible beacon of cutting-edge research.
Professor Matthias Kadler from the Chair of Astronomy at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg is in charge of the project. JMU has been a partner in the group of research institutions responsible for the operation of the Schneefernerhaus since 2024.
