Meddelande

Time capsule buried at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope

16 oktober 2023

Last week, a time capsule commemorating ESO staff, science, technology and cooperation between ESO and Chile was buried in a ceremony at the construction site of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), on Cerro Armazones in the Chilean Atacama Desert. 

The capsule was sealed at the first stone ceremony in 2017, when construction on the soon-to-be “world’s biggest eye on the sky” began. Serving as a symbolic message to future generations, it contains mementos from Chilean authorities, including a plaque from the then President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, about opening the skies of the country to the questions of an entire planet, as well as drawings from Chilean children featuring the Universe, ESO telescopes and northern Chile landscapes. The capsule also includes a mosaic of photographs of ESO staff and a copy of a book describing the future scientific goals of the telescope [1]. Covering it is an engraved hexagon made of Zerodur®, a one-fifth-scale model of one of the ELT’s primary mirror segments. 

Last week, ESO Council members and staff visited the ELT site to bury the capsule in the wall of the ELT dome in an event led by ESO Council President Linda Tacconi (Germany) and Vice-President Mirjam Lieshout-Vijverberg (The Netherlands). In a separate event a few days later, a second group of Council members led by Rafael Bachiller (Spain) and Jan Buriánek (Czechia) installed a commemorative plaque on the wall where the capsule is buried. 

Recently, construction of the ELT passed 50% completion, well on the way to beginning scientific operations later this decade. This milestone happens in the year ESO and Chile are commemorating their 60-year partnership, which has enabled the establishment of unique observatories in the Atacama Desert and the development of a strong scientific community.

As the largest optical and infrared telescope in the world, the ELT will shift our understanding of the Universe. Its scientific goals range from the Solar System to the edge of the observable universe, including exoplanets, black holes, and the first stars and galaxies. It will search for answers to some of the biggest open questions in astronomy: is there life elsewhere in the Universe? What is the nature of dark matter and dark energy? Are the laws of nature universal? It may also answer yet unknown questions — who knows what the ELT will have discovered by the time the capsule is opened?

Notes

[1] The exact contents of the ELT time capsule are:

  • An engraved glass plaque from the then president of Chile Michelle Bachelet Jeria with the quote “Abriendo el cielo de Chile a las preguntas de todo un planeta”
  • A commemorative pen from the Chilean Government (Gobierno Regional, Región de Antofagasta)
  • Six drawings from school children from Antofagasta and Taltal, picturing northern Chile landscapes, astronomical objects and ESO telescopes 
  • Two collages of photos of ESO staff
  • A photo book about the Atacama Desert
  • A book on the science with the ELT: An Expanded View of the Universe

Länkar

Kontakter

Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
Email: press@eso.org

Om meddelandet

ID:ann23017

Bilder

Two people in high-visibility jackets and hard hats are standing on either side of a shiny, metallic square box – the time capsule – placing it into a grey concrete wall.
ESO Council representatives next to the ELT time capsule
A grey concrete wall with a metal square box fitted into it — the time capsule. Etched into its surface is a hexagon with flags and wording too small to make out.
The sealed ELT time capsule
Around 30 people are standing in two lines in front of a large concrete wall, wearing high-visibility jackets and hard hats.
ESO Council members and ESO staff stand next to the ELT time capsule
Two people wearing high-visibility jackets and hard hats are standing, holding a silver hexagonal plaque from either side. Behind them, three more people, also wearing construction equipment, look on.
Plaque commemorating the ELT time capsule
Four people in high-visibility jackets and hard hats are standing on scaffolding in front of a large grey concrete wall. The metallic, square time capsule and accompanying hexagonal plaque are fitted into the wall between the group.
ESO Council representatives next to the plaque commemorating the ELT time capsule
Around 30 people wearing high-visibility jackets and hard hats, some sitting and some standing, are gathered in front of a large grey concrete wall. The metallic time capsule and plaque are fitted into the wall in the middle of the group.
ESO Council members and ESO staff stand next to the ELT time capsule plaque

Videor

Time capsule buried at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope
Time capsule buried at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope
ELT Time Capsule Ceremony
ELT Time Capsule Ceremony