The construction of the world’s largest visible- and infrared-light telescope, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), has reached a significant milestone with the completion of its steel skeleton. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is currently developing the ELT on the Cerro Armazones mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert and expects it to see its “first light” by 2028.
Recently, ESO 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. “Growing is hard work,” ESO officials said in a statement releasing the new photo. The ELT is “taking a well-deserved night-time rest.”
The structure, measuring 262 feet (80 meters) high and 289 feet (88 m) wide, is now being outfitted with dark blue panels, which serve as a protective insulated cladding. The panels will cover the entire dome and consist of different layers, including thermal insulation as well as an aluminum exterior sheet. During daytime hours, when the dome is closed, air conditioning will help protect the telescope from extreme conditions in Atacama Desert. Air conditioning will keep the air inside the dome at same temperature outside environment minimizing turbulence that could blur images captured by ELT.
The foundation recently shown in photo will hold ELT and its array of scientific instruments for long cosmic exploration ahead. As ESO says, “in future, telescope will be working nights.”
