Extremely Large Telescope
Published on 08 Oct 2025
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), nearing 60% completion in Chile’s Atacama Desert, is set for its first observations by 2028.
Built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) at $1.51 billion, it will be the world's largest visible and infrared telescope.
Its 39.3-meter-wide primary mirror, made of 798 segments, will search for life on exoplanets and study the universe’s earliest stars and galaxies.
The Atacama, with its dark, clear skies, minimal light pollution, and high altitude, hosts nearly 40% of global ground-based astronomy, set to rise to 60% within a decade.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an intergovernmental organization for astronomical research, operating advanced ground-based telescopes in Chile, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and the under-construction Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
Established in 1962, ESO is supported by 16 European countries and Australia, focusing on exoplanets, black holes, and the early universe.
