The sun bathes the ELT's shell

The dim light of the sunset bathes ESO's Extremely Large Telescope. This image, taken in January 2025, shows the telescope still under construction. With a 93-meter diameter, the dome of the telescope is as large as a football field. The frame of the dome is now completed, but its outer shell is still in progress. Once finished, it will be fully covered in plates of aluminium, perfect for keeping the telescope thermally protected from the extremely changing temperatures of the Atacama desert.