| Telescope Name | Location / Orbit | Primary Wavelength(s) | Principal Scientific Objectives |
| Space-Based | |||
| James Webb Space Telescope | Sun–Earth L₂ (1.5 million km) | Infra-red | First stars & galaxies; exoplanet atmospheres |
| Hubble Space Telescope | Low-Earth orbit | Visible, UV, Near-IR | High-resolution imaging; cosmic expansion |
| Chandra X-ray Observatory | High-Earth orbit | X-ray | Black holes; supernova remnants |
| Kepler Space Telescope* | Heliocentric | Visible | Exoplanet census (transit method) |
| Ground-Based | |||
| Extremely Large Telescope | Atacama Desert, Chile | Optical, Infra-red | Direct imaging of Earth-like exoplanets; dark matter |
| Very Large Telescope | Atacama Desert, Chile | Optical, Infra-red | High-resolution spectroscopy; black holes |
| W. M. Keck Observatory | Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i | Optical, Infra-red | Wide-band high-resolution spectroscopy |
| ALMA Array | Atacama Desert, Chile | Millimetre / Sub-mm | Star & planet formation; cold gas |
| FAST | Guizhou, China | Radio | Pulsars; SETI; interstellar hydrogen |
*Retired.