The Milky Way’s heart shines over construction site of world’s largest telescope

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The telescope’s dome is complete and protective panels are now being installed

Construction of the Extremely Large Telescope has reached another milestone, with the completion of the dome’s steel skeleton. 

The European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) — the world’s largest visible- and infrared-light telescope — is under development on the Cerro Armazones mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert and is expected to see its “first light” by 2028

The Milky Way’s heart shines over construction site of world’s largest telescope. The telescope’s dome is complete and protective panels are now being installed. Construction of the Extremely Large Telescope has reached another milestone, with the completion of the dome’s steel skeleton

ESO recently shared a stunning new nighttime photo taken from inside of the dome on April 3. The photo captures the telescope’s progress with the Milky Way‘s heart overhead and the rest of the night sky illuminated by shining stars

The telescope will operate at night, when the dome opens its large observing slit to scan the sky. During the day, when the dome is closed, air conditioning will help protect the telescope from the extreme environment of the Atacama Desert.

“This will keep the air inside the dome at the same temperature as the outside environment, minimizing turbulence that could otherwise blur the images the ELT will capture,” ESO officials said in the statement

Where is the largest telescope in the world being built?

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory under construction. When completed, it will be the world’s largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) agency, it is located on top of Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile

What is the largest telescope in the world?

The Giant Magellan Telescope

  • Slated to become operational by 2029.
  • Upon completion, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will be the largest optical telescope in the world.
  • When finished, the telescope will stand 65-meters high, with seven of the largest telescope mirrors ever employed

What has the very large telescope found?

Among the VLT’s notable discoveries are the first direct spectrum of an extrasolar planet, HR 8799c, and the first direct measurement of the mass of an extrasolar planet, HD 209458b. The VLT also discovered the most massive star known, R136a1, which has a mass 320 times that of the Sun

Where is India’s largest telescope?

The 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope is a custom-built instrument of great complexity. This telescope has the distinction of being largest telescope in India for study of celestial objects at optical wavelegths. It is a national facility installed at Devasthal in the district of Nainital, India

Where is the most powerful telescope located?

The Webb was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. In January 2022 it arrived at its destination, a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth

Which is Indias largest mirror telescope?

Liquid Mirror Telescope, Uttarakhand is a 4-meter telescope in Uttarakhand. It is the first liquid-mirror telescope for astronomy in the world and the largest liquid-mirror telescope in Asia.

What is the European Extremely Large Telescope used for?

About | ELT | ESO. Extremely large telescopes are considered worldwide to be one of the highest priorities in ground-based astronomy. They will lead to a greater advancement of astrophysical knowledge, allow a deeper exploration of our Universe, and give sharper views of cosmic objects than ever before

How big is the ELT telescope?

39-metre

As a 39-metre telescope, the ELT will gather 15 times more light than the largest optical telescopes operating today. It will also provide images 15 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope. The ELT performance is thus orders of magnitude better than the currently existing facilities

What kind of telescope is the ELT?

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be the world’s largest optical telescope. The telescope is being built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The ESO is made up of 16 countries which includes the UK and Ireland. The ELT is due to be complete at the end of 2027

How does the ELT telescope work?

These telescopes use curved or concave (curved inwards) mirrors instead of lenses to focus the light. The light from a distant object falls on the primary mirror, where the light is collected and reflected to the secondary mirror

How big is the ELT mirror?

The 39-metre-diameter primary mirror, which will be made up of 798 individual hexagonal segments each measuring 1.4 metres across, will be by far the largest ever made for an optical telescope. Together, the segments will collect tens of millions of times as much light as the human eye

How much does the ELT telescope cost?

Like so many big projects, the ELT is behind schedule. But when it is finished—in 2028, on current plans, at a cost of €1.5bn ($1.6bn)—it will be, by far, the biggest optical telescope in the known universe

Background

In 2006, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) started the ELT program with detailed studies for the telescope. Conceived as a ‘window into distant galaxies’, the gigantic telescope depends on a series of five mirrors producing exceptionally accurate high-resolution images from millions of light-years out in space. The ESO looked to SCHOTT’s unrivalled expertise in glass-ceramics, and in 2017 commissioned the company to begin manufacturing of the mirror substrates required to achieve its unprecedented telescopic range.

Consistent image quality in extreme environments

At the heart of the ELT are the outstanding thermal properties of SCHOTT ZERODUR®glass-ceramic. With an extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion, it can be relied upon to perform consistently and reflect light in a highly precise manner in temperature varying environments. SCHOTT’s ability to manufacture it in a wide range of shapes and sizes has also been crucial to the ELT project

A project like the ELT would not be possible if a material such as ZERODUR® glass-ceramic did not exist

Visualizing the vastness of the universe

The power and scale of the Extremely Large Telescope is simply astonishing. With almost crucial elements of the project being done for the first time, it aims to gather 100 million times more light than the human eye, with images 16 times sharper than those achieved by the Hubble telescope. It will also enable more detailed studies of planets surrounding other stars, along with distant galaxies and supermassive black holes, expanding our knowledge and understanding of the universe

Nothing like this has been done before. The ELT is the first of its kind. It’s a big machine with very stringent requirements in terms of positioning and tracking. We’re putting a giant 3,000-tonne piece of steel in a set position and need to move it with extreme precision. Yes, we have all the simulations and computational analyses to show that we can achieve it, but there’s a big step between simulations and reality. Taking this leap is one of the biggest challenges.

The ELT will observe visible and infra-red wavelengths of light. The 40-metre main mirror will collect 100 million times more light than the human eye. Its total mass will be 3000 tonnes

The ELT is being built to study exoplanetsgalaxiesblack holes, and star formation. It will be able to make detailed images of the first galaxies, and to follow their evolution through time. Scientists may also be able to use the ELT to measure the rate of the Universe’s expansion. This would be a huge step in our understanding of cosmology

The ELT will have 5 mirrors. Three of these mirrors are curved, the other 2 are flat. The curved mirrors will provide excellent images over a wide angle of sky. The flat mirrors will provide adaptive optics and image stabilisation tools. These tools will let the ELT take really clear images of stars from Earth. Despite being a ground-based telescope, it will be able to make images 16 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope

Origin of telescopes

The first telescopes were invented in the Netherlands in 1608 by multiple spectacle makers, including Hans Lipperhey, Zacharias Janssen, and Jacob Metius. Lipperhey filed a patent application with the States General of the Netherlands on October 2, 1608 for his device, which he described as a way to “see things far away as if they were nearby”. The device consisted of a convex and concave lens in a tube that magnified objects three or four times. However, the Dutch government did not award a patent because they thought the device would be easy to copy. Instead, they gave Lipperhey a contract to make copies of his design and awarded Metius a small sum

Galileo Galilei also built his own telescope after hearing about Lipperhey’s invention. Galileo’s observations using the telescope included Jupiter’s moons, the Earth’s moon, and the sun’s position in the universe. 

The telescope has since become a key scientific instrument that has changed how people perceive the world. In the late 20th century, astronomers began launching telescopes into space to avoid the Earth’s atmosphere. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, is one of the most famous examples of this

Where did the telescope originate?

While there is evidence that the principles of telescopes were known in the late 16th century, the first telescopes were created in the Netherlands in 1608. Spectacle makers Hans Lippershey & Zacharias Janssen and Jacob Metius independently created telescopes.

What is the introduction of telescope?

A telescope is a tool that astronomers use to see faraway objects. Most telescopes, and all large telescopes, work by using curved mirrors to gather and focus light from the night sky. The first telescopes focused light by using pieces of curved, clear glass, called lenses

Who first discovered the telescope?

The true inventor of the first telescope is somewhat difficult to nail down. However, the first person to apply for a patent on a telescope was Hans Lippershey, a lensmaker in the Netherlands, in 1608. The first astronomical use of the telescope is easier

What were telescopes first called?

It is not known who first invented the telescope, but Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey (or Lipperhey) was the first person to patent the telescope in 1608. His device, called a kijker (“looker”), was, according to Hans, able to magnify an image up to three times

Who is the real father of telescope?

Italian scientist, Galileo invented the telescope. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and discovered that the Milky Way is made up of stars

What is the purpose of a telescope?

Telescopes collect and magnify the light from distant objects. The problem with observing objects in the night sky is that they are so far away and therefore appear extremely faint. The more light that can be collected with a telescope, the better we can see these objects

What was the best telescope in the 1900?

The Great Paris Exhibition Telescope of 1900, with an objective lens of 1.25 m (49 in) in diameter, was the largest refracting telescope ever constructed

What is the new telescope in 2025?

Managed by JPL, SPHEREx is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than June 2024 and no later than April 2025. Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, will supply the spacecraft. The analysis of the SPHEREx data will be conducted by a team of scientists located at 10 institutions across the U.S. and in South Korea

What type of telescope is best for viewing planets and galaxies?

Types: Apochromatic refractors, Schmidt-Cassegrain, and Maksutov-Cassegraintelescopes are known for their superior optical quality.

About jwst

The JWST is the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope ever launched. It’s an international program led by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The JWST’s four instruments allow astronomers to observe a variety of celestial objects, including: Objects within our solar system, The early universe, Distant worlds around other stars, The formation of the first galaxies, and Exoplanets previously identified by the Kepler Space Telescope. 

The JWST has already made several discoveries, including studying the atmospheres of distant planets and finding carbon dioxide and methane on one planet, which suggests it may have oceans. The JWST has also captured images of young star clusters, supernova remnants, and more.

Upcoming space telescopes

NASA is evaluating several space telescopes to launch in the 2030s, including: Origins Space Telescope, Lynx X-ray Observatory, Habitable Exoplanets Observatory (HabEx), and Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR

NASA also has other upcoming space telescopes, including:

  • Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope This telescope is scheduled to launch in 2027 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and will use a coronagraph to image gaseous exoplanets. It will have a 2.4-meter-diameter mirror and could gather direct images of gas giants. 
  • UVEX telescope This $300 million telescope is expected to launch in 2030 and will study ultraviolet light sources in the universe.

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