Apr 27
ESO Chooses Location for Extremely Large Telescope
Posted in: science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
The European Southern Observatory organization has chosen Cerro Armazones, a nearly 10,000-foot mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert, for its next-generation observatory, BBC News reports, a location that should be good for 320 days of clear observing per year.
The E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) will feature a primary mirror that’s 187 feet (not inches) in diameter. Each of its 984 hexagonal segments will be 57 inches wide; all will combine with four smaller mirrors to generate each final image.
The resulting telescope will be five times the width of today’s best optical telescopes, and can gather 15 times more light. It’s expected to take images that are 15 times sharper than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, according to the article.
The $1 billion euro E-ELT will also feature improved optics techniques that correct for atmospheric distortions, the report said; construction could start as early as 2011, with the telescope going online sometime in 2018.
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