Biggest-ever optical telescope gets go-ahead

Science : The Council of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) yesterday approved construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the largest optical–IR telescope in history, writes Govert Schilling for Science. The E-ELT, which is to be built on Cerro Armazones, a mountain in Chile, will be a collaboration of the ESO’s 14 member states; the countries are in the process of committing to the project and allocating the funds. Once built, the telescope will be used to study the early universe and the evolution of stars and planets. With ESO’s approval, several preliminary steps can get under way, including construction of the access road, leveling of the mountain’s conical summit, and funding of the first design phase of the telescope’s complex mirror system.