Astronomers at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona have released the first images taken using its two giant 8m diameter mirrors.
The detailed pictures show a spiral galaxy located 102 million light-years away from the Milky Way.
LBT has been 20 years in the making but promises to allow astronomers to probe the Universe further back in time and in more detail than ever before.
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The $120m (£60m) telescope uses two mirrors in tandem to maximise the amount of light it gathers, which allows astronomers to look deep into the Universe.
Using two 8.4 m (27ft) mirrors will give LBT the equivalent light-gathering capacity of a single 11.8m (39ft) instrument and the resolution of a 22.8m (75ft) telescope.
Impressive detail
The resolution is 10 times greater than the space-based Hubble telescope, which has a 2.4m (8ft) mirror.
"The images that this telescope will produce will be like none seen before," said Professor Peter Strittmatter of the University of Arizona.
It's amazing what we're able to do with ground-based telescopes.
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