Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is a gigantic reflecting telescope currently being built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile’s Atacama Desert. With a primary mirror measuring 39 meters in diameter, it will be the largest optical telescope in the world. The ELT is expected to go into operation in the early 2030s and will enable groundbreaking observations in visible and infrared light.

The ELT’s scientific goals include the study of exoplanets, the formation of stars and galaxies, as well as research into dark matter and dark energy. Thanks to adaptive optics, the telescope can correct atmospheric distortions and deliver extremely sharp images—up to 15 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Cerro Armazones mountain in the Chilean desert, near ESO’s Paranal Observatory, will be the site for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which, with its 39-metre diameter mirror, will be the world’s biggest eye on the sky. Here, an artist’s rendering shows how the telescope’s Adaptive Optics system will look in action.
Source: ESO/L. Calçada