The ELT, from the air

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is currently building its largest project yet: the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Located in Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama desert, this will be the biggest optical telescope in the world. This video shows amazing drone footage of the telescope and its surroundings, taken in November 2024. The structure frame of the dome is completed and is being claded on. In the interior, a honey-comb-like structure is the main mirror's base, an stounding structure 39 metres in diameter. Just outside the telescope lies the central tower, which will support three of the telescope's five mirrors.