Construction of the world largest Telescope in Chile

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has officially launched the construction of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) during the first stone ceremony held in May 26.

A mirror of 39-meter in diameter is to compose the ELT which is to stand the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world. The ELT will be positioned in a massive rotating dome of 85 meters in diameter.

Patrick Roche, President of the ESO Council, declared: "This is a milestone in ESO’s history, the ELT will be the most powerful and ambitious telescope of its kind. We have reached this point thanks to the efforts of many people in the Member States of ESO, in Chile and elsewhere, over many years."

The ELT is to be located at an altitude of 3,000 meters above the sea level in the Atacama desert.

It would be used partly to probe Earth-like exoplanets for signs of life, to observe the Universe’s early stages with the objective to explore our origins or to improve life on Earth through new technology and engineering breakthroughs.

Tim de Zeeuw: “The ELT will produce discoveries that we simply cannot imagine today, and it will surely inspire numerous people around the world to think about science, technology and our place in the Universe. This will bring great benefit to the ESO Member States, to Chile, and to the rest of the world.”

The project estimation is €1bn.

The ELT is expected to enter into operation in 2024.