World’s largest ground-based telescope is given ‘go ahead’

The programme for the world's largest ground-based optical telescope - which includes major input from scientists at Durham University - has been approved. The Council of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) gave the go-ahead to the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) programme at a meeting yesterday (Monday June 11). Construction will not commence until provisional votes by four of the member states, including the UK, have been confirmed and 90 per cent of the funding required has been secured. Full details can be found in the ESO : https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1225/ The E-ELT is a 39-m diameter optical/infrared telescope, planned to be tens of times more sensitive than any current telescope of its kind. Collecting at least 12 times more light than the current largest optical telescopes, it will push forward our understanding of planets beyond our solar system, including those where life might exist and the nature and distribution of dark matter and dark energy that is thought to make up most of our Universe but as yet is not directly observed or understood. The UK is playing several leading and key roles in the project. The Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC's) UK Astronomy Technology Centre is coordinating the UK contributions, in collaboration with industry and university partners.