Construction of world’s largest telescope begins in Chile

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Friday inaugurated the construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), which will be the world’s largest optical telescope upon its completion.

Located on a 3,000 metre-high mountain in the middle of the Atacama desert, E-ELT is expected to start operations as an integral part of the Paranal Observatory in 2024.

The telescope is said to be five times larger than many of its existing counterparts.

With its enormous size, the E-ELT could change our perspective of the universe, according to its backers, who are optimistic about the performance of the telescope’s primary mirror that can measure some 39 metres across.

The E-ELT is expected to help astronomers find exoplanets orbiting other stars while also refining their discoveries with its ability to locate smaller planets.

The telescope is also capable of imaging larger planets and characterising their atmosphere, which would help astronomers better understand the possibility of life there.