The CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) project is an initiative to build the next generation ground-based very high energy gamma-ray instrument. It will serve as an open observatory to a wide astrophysics community and will provide a deep insight into the non-thermal high-energy universe. A short movie outlining the envisaged arrays is available here. A special edition of the journal Astroparticle Physics with a focus on CTA can be accessed here.
The aims of the CTA can be roughly grouped into three main themes, serving as key science drivers:
1 Understanding the origin of cosmic rays and their role in the Universe
2 Understanding the nature and variety of particle acceleration around black holes
Searching for the ultimate nature of matter and physics beyond the Standard Model