Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Thu Jun 19, 2014, 04:33 PM Jun 2014

Chilean mountaintop blasted for giant telescope

Chilean mountaintop blasted for giant telescope
The Associated Press
Posted: 06/19/2014 12:39:16 PM PDT# Comments | Updated: about 3 hours ago

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Astronomers in Chile are blasting away the top of a mountain to install what they say will be the world's largest optical telescope.

The 9,800-foot (3,000 meter) Cerro Armazones mountain will be the new home of the European Extremely Large Telescope.

Thursday's blast is being overseen by officials at the European Southern Observatory in northern Chile.

Their ground-based telescope has a 128-foot (39-meter) mirror, and the astronomers are calling it "the world's biggest eye on the sky." They say it will help advance the study of planets around other stars, dark matter and supermassive black holes.

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25995574/chilean-mountaintop-blasted-giant-telescope

(Short article, no more at link.)

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
World's Biggest Telescope to be Installed Atop Chile's Cerro Armazones
By Rahul R
June 19, 2014 13:09 BST


[font size=1]
VFTS 102, shown in the center, rotates more than 300 times faster than the Sun, astronomers found using the Very Large Telescope from the European Southern Observatory.ESO[/font]

The world's biggest telescope is all set to be installed atop the 3,000 metre high Cerro Armazones in Chile after blasting off a significant portion of the mountain's surface.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) project is the brainchild of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), a Britain-based organisation.

According to a Guardian report, the blasting off of the mountain will take place at 2pm local time (7pm BST) on 19 June. This will be followed by month-long operations to clear the rubble after which work for installing the telescope will begin.

A massive, 2,500 tons of steel is expected to be used in building the E-ELT's most important mirror.

The world's biggest telescope is all set to be installed atop the 3,000 metre high Cerro Armazones in Chile after blasting off a significant portion of the mountain's surface.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) project is the brainchild of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), a Britain-based organisation.

The E-ELT will aid stargazers and scientists in a big way. "I feel excited. We are opening a highway for the future knowledge of astronomy," Roberto Tamia is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

More:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/worlds-biggest-telescope-be-installed-atop-chiles-cerro-armazones-1453348

[center]

Cerro Armazones Mountain



This is the installation at Paranal. They are all within the Atacama Desert. [/center]

2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Chilean mountaintop blasted for giant telescope (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jun 2014 OP
14 artist's renderings of how this European Extremely Large Telescope will look: Judi Lynn Jun 2014 #1
Normally I would disapprove of blowing off tops of mountains, BUT... Peace Patriot Jun 2014 #2

Peace Patriot

(24,010 posts)
2. Normally I would disapprove of blowing off tops of mountains, BUT...
Sat Jun 21, 2014, 03:10 AM
Jun 2014

a) This blow-off is NOT FOR PROFIT but for KNOWLEDGE, and that makes a big difference to me--especially this kind of knowledge-such as studying the thousands of planets that recently have been discovered in our galaxy--knowledge that makes life worth living; knowledge that is pertinent to our place in the Universe, and that is crucial to our understanding of the Universe); and

b) It doesn't look like there is very much in that landscape to be disturbed by the operation, though the article doesn't mention anything about environmental studies/impacts. I would like to know more about impacts and I hope that there has been such a study and that it was given serious consideration. But, again, sometimes humans need to alter things--to change a landscape. Sometimes this has a truly worthy purpose. Frakking a landscape in order to continue our completely unsustainable dependence on oil, and to pad the pockets of uber-rich bastards? No! Mowing down yet another rare forest needed as a "carbon-sink" against global warming, in order to build more ticky-tacky housing developments, or worse, to make throwaway paper, and pad the pockets of yet more uber-rich bastards? No! But seeking other life in our galaxy? YES! THAT is a worthy purpose, even if it has some impacts.

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Latin America»Chilean mountaintop blast...