There was little delay in deciding on a name, and the Extremely Large Telescope, or ELT, was chosen.
Rather, a great deal of effort has gone into planning and constructing “the world’s biggest eye on the sky,” which is expected to improve our understanding of the cosmos and begin collecting photographs in 2028.
Without some of the most sophisticated mirrors ever created, none of that could have happened.
Mallet/Mersen Boostec Florent M5 mirror inspection by Dr. Elise VernetDr. Elise Vernet, an expert in adaptive optics at ESO, has been supervising the construction of the five enormous mirrors that will collect it.
The optical design of each of the ELT’s unique mirrors is astounding.
The 14-foot (4.25-meter) convex M2 mirror is described as “a piece of art” by Dr. Vernet.
However, the M1 and M4 mirrors might convey the necessary amount of complexity and accuracy the best.
The largest mirror ever created for an optical telescope is the primary mirror, or M1.
According to Dr. Vernet, “it is 39 meters [128 feet] in diameter and is composed of 798 hexagonal mirror segments that are aligned to form a perfect monolithic mirror.”
