14 DAY TRIAL // In a statement issued this past Thursday, the European Southern Observatory announces that, at a recent meeting, its main governing body officially approved plans to build a freakishly big telescope in Chile.
The telescope, dubbed the European Extremely Large Telescope (the E-ELT, for short), is to be erected atop Cerro Armazones, a mountain in the country's Atacama Desert. It stands to become the biggest-ever installation of this kind.
“It will be the world’s largest ‘eye on the sky,’” scientists with the European Southern Observatory argue. When up and running, the telescope will help study distant galaxies and discover previously undocumented planets.
The ins and outs of the European Extremely Large Telescope
The brainiacs behind this ambitious project say that this world's largest telescope will be built at a distance of about 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles) from one other such installation operated by the European Southern Observatory.
This other installation that will be the Extremely Large Telescope's neighbor goes by the name of the Very Large Telescope. It sits atop a mountain dubbed Cerro Paranal and it became operational some time ago, in 1998.
When completed, the optical/near-infrared telescope will sport a 39-meter (128-feet) main mirror and a 4-meter (13-feet) secondary mirror. The installation will also include all sorts of instruments that will allow scientists to probe distant celestial systems.
More precisely, the telescope is expected to help detect planets similar to our own in the so-called habitable zone of stars populating the cosmos. It will also be used to study the evolution of the universe and even dark matter and black holes.
Building the largest telescope the world has ever seen
Folks with the European Space Observatory explain that the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile's Atacama Desert will be developed in two phases. During Phase 1, which will burn through 90% of the funds for this project, the telescope will be erected and put to work.
During Phase 2, on the other hand, the installation will be fitted with all sorts of instruments that the European Space Observatory labels nonessential elements. This second stage of construction will be awarded 10% of the overall funds available for this initiative.
It's important to note that, so far, the European Southern Observatory's main governing body has only approved Phase 1, for which contracts will be awarded towards the end of 2015. Should things go as planned, the telescope will become operational sometime towards the beginning of the next decade.
In case anyone was wondering, the costs associated with implementing this very ambitious project are estimated to amount to well over $1 billion (€0.8 billion). Then again, the scientists behind this project assure us that the investment will be well worth it.
