Posted on 06/20/2012 4:27:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A coalition of 15 European countries has announced plans to build the biggest telescope in the world.
The mirror inside the telescope will measure 39metres across -- four times wider than today's biggest telescope -- and it will be so powerful that astronomers will even be able to observe dark, rocky planets far beyond our solar system.
The European Southern Observatory project is supported by 15 members of the European Union and has the catchy name 'European Extremely Large Telescope'... even if it will be built in Chile, to avoid light pollution.
The twin infrared/optical telescope will sit on top of a 3,060metre mountaintop, giving unparralled views of the sky above, and should hopefully come online in 2022...
ESO agreed to the optical/infrared telescope in Garching, Germany, (E-ELT) Programme, pending confirmation of final referendums.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
An artist's impression of the European Extremely Large Telescope on Cerro Armazones, a 3,060-metre mountaintop in Chile's Atacama Desert: For comparison, look at the size of the cars
No problem. Just print more money.
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Well, we all know the old saying...."You can't take it with you".
Spend it while you have it! /s
The EU will *lens* them the money.
That 39 meter mirror (about 128 feet) is far less in diameter than the facility circumference appears in the photo. Just a SWAG using the size of the autos puts that distance in excess of 250 feet.
Yes but can it core a apple?
I am not even sure we’ve ever had pictures of planets beyond our solar system,not the way we have of some of the more distant planets in our own neighborhood.
Also there is only one system within two light years.So it doesn’t seem this telescope,if it gets build,will be seeing all that much.
I am just disappointed that with this money being spread around,no one is actually building on these new frontiers in our heavens such as the moon.
Eventually, though probably not in my lifetime but this is how we’ll find life on other planets. We’ll be able to build telescopes powerful enough to see it. Kepler is finding planets left and right, all over the place. At some point, there’s going to be a space-based telescope that’ll be able to zoom right in to discern extraterrestrial forests and fields.
Wouldn’t it be much better to put it all together out of our atmosphere? How much would they see then?
The far side of the Moon would be ideal; much of the time it would be protected from the solar interference as well.
It’s amazing that we built technological solutions to examine (for example) Mars close up, when a telescope like this might have answered all the questions. :’)
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