"Prior to World War II the vast majority of telescopes built around the world were funded by wealthy people with an interest in the heavens above. However, after the war, two significant developments in the mid-20th century caused the burden of funding large astronomical instruments to largely shift to the government and academic institutions. First, as mirrors became larger and larger to see deeper into the universe, their costs grew exponentially."
""For 20 years, Eric and I have pursued philanthropy to seek new frontiers, whether in the deep sea or in the profound connections that link people and our planet, committing our resources to novel research that reaches beyond what might be funded by governments or the private sector," Wendy Schmidt said in a statement to Ars. "With the Schmidt Observatory System, we're enabling multiple approaches to understanding the vast universe where we find ourselves stewards of a living planet.""
Private individuals funded most telescopes before World War II. Mid-20th-century technological advances and the rising costs of larger mirrors and spaceflight shifted major funding to governments and academic institutions. Eric and Wendy Schmidt announced investment in four telescopes, grouped as the Schmidt Observatory System, with the space-based Lazuli intended as a modern, more capable counterpart to the decades-old Hubble Space Telescope. The Schmidts did not disclose the exact amount but the investment likely exceeds half a billion dollars. The initiative restores significant private philanthropic support for large-scale astronomical instruments and capabilities.
Read at Ars Technica
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