Full Moon Rises behind European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope

Full Moon Rises behind European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope

This stunning video shows the full Moon rising behind the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in the Chilean Atacama desert. Once finished later this decade, it will be the largest optical and infrared telescope in the world.

The video was captured on March 13, 2025, by our colleague Juan Beltrán. He works at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, not far from the ELT. The dome is already partially covered with insulating cladding. Inside it, the telescope’s main structure is taking shape.

The ELT is truly a massive building. Despite their massive size, these structures are able to rotate and tilt the mirrors to the targeted observation with great precision. The ELT is almost as tall as London's Big Ben clock tower and larger than Rome's Colosseum. The construction materials used for the ELT include: 10,000 tonnes of steel, 30 million bolts or 500 km of cables. Even compared to other large telescopes, the ELT is a one-of-a-kind.

The ELT can be seen including its dome, central structure, and base of the M1 mirror. The ELT stands at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert and will be one of the main flagships of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the next two decades. 

Altitude: 3,046 meters

Planned year of technical first light: 2027

Learn more about ESO’s ELT at:

https://elt.eso.org

In 2006, approval was given for the construction of the largest optical telescope on Earth.

Video Credit: J. Beltrán/European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Duration: 29 seconds
Release Date: March 24, 2025

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