The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) will be the world’s largest and most sensitive ground-based gamma-ray observatory. With a telescope array site in each hemisphere, one on La Palma (Spain) and one in Paranal (Chile), it will cover the full night sky, detecting high-energy radiation from the Universe with unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity. Continental Europe will host its headquarters in Bologna (Italy) and the Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) in Zeuthen (Germany).

The Observatory is funded through a combination of in-kind-contributions and directly funded efforts, with more than 10 countries actively participating as shareholders, and more than 150 institutions from 25 countries taking part in the project. The CTAO was promoted to a “Landmark” on the European Forum on Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) Roadmap 2018, and was ranked as the main priority among the new ground-based infrastructures in the ASTRONET Roadmap 2022-2035.