The M1 cell inside of the ELT dome

This drone image from July 2024 shows a top view of the partly-constructed dome of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, on Cerro Armazones in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The white lattice structure inside shows the progress of the construction of the M1 cell, which will eventually seat the telescope’s enormous primary mirror, M1. The hole in the middle will house the central tower, which will hold the M3, M4, and M5 mirrors.

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• Close-up view of the M1 cell
• Pieces of the M1 cell before being lifted into the dome