ELT 3D rendering

Rendering of the ELT telescope structure. This structure design, presented in November 2008 at the Baseline Reference Design version 3, is the result for a detailed design study and was realised together with ESO's industrial partners. The 39-metre primary mirror reflects the light first to the 4.2-metre secondary mirror hanging upside-down at 60 m height. The light is then further transmitted to mirrors 3, 4 and 5 (located in the central tower) and finally reflected to either side where the astronomical cameras sitting on the Nasmyth platforms will see nearly perfect images of the celestial objects. To assist the adaptive optics included in the telescope, telescope guide stars are created in the sky by using powerful lasers launched at the corners of the primary mirror cell.

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