26 July 11
The world’s largest telescope needs precision engineering
BBC News reports an Extremely Large Telescope is being built 2,600m up in the Andes on a site overlooking the Paranal observatory. When it is finished in 10 years time, it will be the most powerful optical instrument in the world.
“Because it is impossible to make such a large, curved, high-precision mirror, engineers in Europe will make nearly 1,000 small hexagonal mirrors which will be shipped to Chile and fitted together like pieces in a giant jigsaw puzzle.”
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