Shielding the Extremely Large Telescope from the Atacama Desert | ESO

Shielding the Extremely Large Telescope from Chile's Atacama Desert | ESO

The European Southern Observatory is building our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in the Atacama Desert. It is among the darkest skies on Earth, although it is a very harsh environment.

This is why we are currently covering the ELT steel dome with special cladding. It includes insulating layers and sheets of aluminum. This will protect the ELT and its delicate optics from the external environment.

Learn more about ESO’s ELT at: https://elt.eso.org/ 

Altitude: 3046 meters

Planned year of technical first light: 2027

Video Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directing, Editing & Writing by: Angelos Tsaousis

Written by: Bárbara Ferreira

Footage and photos: ESO, Angelos Tsaousis, Martin Wallner

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 7, 2024

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