The largest telescope in the world stands a little closer to the stars
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the most powerful optical instrument ever built that will dramatically increase the observation capacity of astronomers, is slowly emerging from the ground in northern Chile, one of the best places to look at the stars.
This new “eye on the sky”, which will be added from 2027 to the powerful observation instruments already in service in the Atacama Desert, will make it possible to multiply by 5,000 the current observation capacity, and to point the a look at hitherto unknown places to answer questions still open about the origins of the Universe.
“There are certain scientific questions that we would like to answer and these questions lead to the need for technology that helps us answer them,” Chilean astronomer Luis Chavarria, from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), said. which finances the construction of the ELT.
The ELT, whose construction began in 2017, will consist of a primary mirror 39 meters in diameter, made up of 798 small hexagonal mirrors. It will be housed in a huge hemispherical dome 85 metres in diameter that will culminate 74 meters above the ground.
The construction cost of the huge 2,800 ton set is estimated at 1.3 billion euros.
