The World's Biggest Eye on the Sky

Did you know? Stars form in dense clouds of the interstellar medium, but even in these densest regions the pressure is comparable to the most tenuous vacuum created in a laboratory on Earth. In these clouds, the temperatures are below -200 degrees Celsius.

E-ELT Name: European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) Type: optical to mid-infrared telescope Aperture: 42 m Optical design: Five-mirror design — three-mirror on-axis anastigmat + two fold mirrors used for adaptive optics Field of view: 10 arcminute diameter Mounting: Nasmyth mount Location: TBD Housing: dome Start of operations: 2018 (planned) Wavelength range: blue atmospheric cut-off (300 nm) to mid-infrared (24 microns) Instrumentation: 9 stations for fixed instruments (of which two are "gravity invariant", and one is a Coudé focus) Detectors: technology dependent on instrument Pixel scale: at Nasmyth focus (F/17.7), 1 arcsecond on sky corresponds to 3.6 mm in the focal plane Science goals: detection and characterisation of exoplanets, fundamental physics (e.g., variations of fundamental constants across cosmic history), first objects in the Universe and evolution history of galaxies, black holes (from solar-mass to supermassive), and the nature and distribution of the dark matter and dark energy which dominate the Universe

Extremely Large Telescopes are considered worldwide as one of the highest priorities in ground-based astronomy. They will vastly advance astrophysical knowledge, allowing detailed studies of subjects including planets around other stars, the first objects in the Universe, super-massive black holes, and the nature and distribution of the dark matter and dark energy which dominate the Universe.

Since the end of 2005 ESO has been working together with its user community of European astronomers and astrophysicists to define the new giant telescope needed by the middle of the next decade. More than 100 astronomers from all European countries have been involved throughout 2006, helping the ESO Project Offices to produce a novel concept, in which performance, cost, schedule and risk were carefully evaluated.

Dubbed E-ELT for European Extremely Large Telescope, this revolutionary new ground-based telescope concept will be 42 metres in diameter and will be the world's biggest eye on the sky.

With the start of operations planned for 2018, the E-ELT will tackle the biggest scientific challenges of our time, and aim for a number of notable firsts, including tracking down Earth-like planets around other stars in the "habitable zones" where life could exist — one of the Holy Grails of modern observational astronomy. It will also perform "stellar archaeology" in nearby galaxies, as well as make fundamental contributions to cosmology by measuring the properties of the first stars and galaxies and probing the nature of dark matter and dark energy. On top of this astronomers are also planning for the unexpected — new and unforeseeable questions will surely arise from the new discoveries made with the E-ELT.

Do you want to have more information on this fascinating project? Then, please use the table of content below to read further:

• Preparing a Revolution
• Science with the E-ELT:
  • Are We Alone?
  • The First Objects in the Universe
• The E-ELT Concept
• Europe's Window on the Universe
• Finding a home
• The E-ELT in numbers

To know (almost) everything on this exciting and demanding technical development, browse the detailed E-ELT project pages.

Read more

• ESO Handout in PDF format.
• E-ELT Brochure in PDF format
• E-ELT Brochure 2 in PDF format

 Watch the trailer

This trailer is available for download in high-definition on this link.

Next