UK commits £88m to Chilean telescope 'as big as all existing ones put together'

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), costing more than €1bn, will capture the universe's earliest momentsBritain has committed £88m towards the construction of the world's largest telescope. The huge observatory, to be built in the Chilean Andes, will allow astronomers to capture images of the universe's earliest moments.The giant eye on the sky, known as the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), will cost more than €1bn (£900m) to build. Its main mirror, which will gather light from distant stars and galaxies, will be 39 metres in diameter, made of 798 segments. The observatory will gather 15 times more light than the largest telescopes today."Every area of astronomy, from planets around other stars to the first galaxies in the universe, will be revolutionised by this telescope," said Professor Simon Morris of Durham University.The giant observatory will become part of an array of telescopes built by the European Southern Observatory organisation – of which Britain is a key member – in Chile. Built high in the Andes, these instruments avoid much of the atmospheric turbulence that affects observatories at lower altitudes.The site also allows astronomers to study objects such as the Magellanic clouds, which can only be seen in the skies of the southern hemisphere."The E-ELT will have almost as much light collecting area as all the telescopes ever built, put together," said Professor Niranjan Thatte of Oxford University. "Not only will it allow us to ...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 3, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: James Webb space telescope Astronomy European Union News UK news The Observer Hubble space telescope David Willetts Science Chile Source Type: news