construction begins in the atacama desert on world’s largest optical telescope

permission for the world’s largest optic telescope — creatively named, ‘extremely large telescope’ or ‘ELT’ — was first granted in june 2014. now, almost three years on, the first brick has been laid and construction has officially started on the device. with a main mirror 39 metres in diameter, ELT will take telescope engineering into new territory. housed in an enormous rotating dome 85 metres in diameter — the entire construction will be comparable in area to a football pitch.

images courtesy of ESO

the project is being lead by ESO, who held a ceremony to mark the beginning of the telescope’s construction at its paranal observatory in chile — close to the where the telescope will be situated. the occasion also celebrated the connection of the observatory to the chilean national electrical grid. the ceremony has been attended by chilean president bachelet, who emphasized that ‘with the symbolic start of this construction work, we are building more than a telescope here: it is one of the greatest expressions of scientific and technological capabilities and of the extraordinary potential of international cooperation.’

patrick roche, president of the ESO council, added that ‘his is a milestone in ESO’s history, the ELT will be the most powerful and ambitious telescope of its kind.’ the ELT is targeted to see first light in 2024. the laying of the first stone marks the dawn of a new era of astronomy.

Save

Save