Communiqué de presse

First 8.2-m Telescope at Paranal Takes Shape

8 août 1997

The installation of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert continues at good pace. As the moment of first light of the first 8.2-metre telescope is getting closer, the assembly of the enormous, 400-ton mechanical structure proceeds according to schedule.

Peter Gray from ESO who is in charge of the Assembly Integration Verification, regularly reports on the progress of this work, in written form as well as by means of photos. The seven images shown here form part of a larger series which he obtained towards the end of July 1997. At that time a particularly difficult stage of the complex assembly work was successfully completed.

In order to better visualize the location of the big centerpiece and the Serrurier struts within the overall telescope structure, it may be useful to inspect eso9721a. It was obtained during the pre-assembly phase in December 1995, at the time when the ESO Council visited the Ansaldo factory in Milan (Italy).

Please note that since these images were electronically recorded and were primarily obtained to document the VLT construction activities, they are not of full professional quality for photographic reproduction.

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