Construction of the Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope, is nearing completion as scientists prepare to use it to search for signs of life on planets beyond our solar system.
The massive telescope is being built on a mountaintop more than 3,000 metres above sea level in Chile’s Atacama Desert. According to foreign media reports, its primary mirror will have a diameter of 39 metres, covering an area roughly equivalent to half a football field. It will be several times larger than any major optical telescope currently in operation.
One of the telescope’s key capabilities will be analysing the atmospheres of planets outside the solar system for oxygen, methane and other potential biosignatures associated with life.
The telescope will also use advanced Adaptive Optics technology to reduce the distortion caused by Earth’s atmosphere, allowing it to produce highly detailed images and observations.
Scientists expect the E-ELT to significantly improve the search for potentially habitable planets and provide new evidence in the long-standing scientific question of whether life exists beyond Earth.
