The ELT enclosure inside

A three-dimensional model of the gigantic and intricate structure inside the enclosure of the Extremely Large Telescope. The revolutionary design of the telescope consists of five mirrors.

The main mirror, with a diameter of 39 metres, is visible in the lower part of the image, and the secondary mirror can be seen in the top part; with a diameter of 4.2 metres, the secondary mirror has almost the same size as the primary mirrors in the biggest telescopes currently in operation. A third mirror, with a diameter of 4 metres, lies below the main mirror, and two additional, smaller mirrors are contained in the little, white structure visible in the centre of the image: they will be used to remove the blurring effect of atmospheric turbulence from the images, in order to achieve the sharpest images ever obtained from a telescope on the ground.

The design for the ELT shown here was published in 2009 and is preliminary.