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European Extremely Large Telescope-Artwork

author: ESO/Novapix

reference: o-elt90-00003

Image Size 300 DPI: 51 * 34 cm

With a 42-m diameter primary mirror, the present baseline, its total rotating mass is 5500 tons. The two platforms on each side of the structure hold large instruments. The telescope features a novel, innovative design, based on 5 mirrors. The primary 42-m mirror is composed of 906 segments, each 1.45 m wide, while the secondary mirror is as large as 6 m in diameter. A tertiary mirror, 4.2 m in diameter, relays the light to the adaptive optics system, composed of two mirrors: a 2.5-m mirror supported by 5000 or more actuators so as to be able to distort its own shape a thousand times per second, and one 2.7 m in diameter that allows for the final image corrections. This five mirror approach results in an exceptional image quality, with no significant aberrations in the field of view.

Keywords for this photo:

2008 - 3D - ASTRONOMY - CERRO ARMAZONES - CHILE - DOME - E-ELT - ELT - EXTREMELY LARGE TELESCOPE - ILLUSTRATION - MIRROR - OBSERVATORY - POSTER - TELESCOPE -