Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by n1 on Monday May 29 2017, @08:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the bigger-means-better dept.

After several years of planning and no shortage of financial anxiety, construction has officially started on the Extremely Large Telescope. Contractors are now building the main structure and dome of the Chile-based observer ahead of its initial service in 2024. That's a long time to wait, but this is no mean feat. With a 43-yard aperture, this promises to be the world's largest optical telescope for sometime, even compared to future or in-limbo projects like the Thirty Meter Telescope. Those gigantic dimensions will help it capture far more light, giving astronomers the chance to spot particularly distant galaxies, find small planets and capture more details of larger planets.

The ELT's full capabilities won't come until sometime after 2024, when the ESO starts a second construction phase. It could easily be another few years after that before the telescope lives up to its expectations.

Source: Engadget


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 30 2017, @01:49AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 30 2017, @01:49AM (#517412)

    The cooler is closed-cycle. But L2 orbits need fuel to maintain.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 2) by butthurt on Tuesday May 30 2017, @07:03PM

    by butthurt (6141) on Tuesday May 30 2017, @07:03PM (#517824) Journal

    Yes, ESA says that's true for L2:

    Orbits about L2 are dynamically unstable; small departures from equilibrium grow exponentially with a time constant of about 23 days.

    -- http://sci.esa.int/herschel/34699-orbit-navigation/ [esa.int]

    Wikipedia says without a citation:

    In contrast to L4 and L5, where stable equilibrium exists, the points L1, L2, and L3 are positions of unstable equilibrium. Any object orbiting at L1, L2, or L3 will tend to fall out of orbit; it is therefore rare to find natural objects there, and spacecraft inhabiting these areas must employ station keeping in order to maintain their position.

    -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrangian_point [wikipedia.org]