Sun Rises over Extremely Large Telescope under Construction in Chile | ESO

Sun Rises over Extremely Large Telescope under Construction in Chile | ESO

This timelapse shows the sun rising behind the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). It was taken on April 12, 2025 from Cerro Paranal, home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope and located about 23 km away from Cerro Armazones, where the ELT is located.

The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is truly a massive building. Despite their massive size, these structures are able to rotate and tilt the mirrors to the targeted observation with great precision. The ELT is almost as tall as London's Big Ben clock tower and larger than Rome's Colosseum. The construction materials used for the ELT include: 10,000 tonnes of steel, 30 million bolts or 500 km of cables. Even compared to other large telescopes, the ELT is a one-of-a-kind.

The ELT can be seen including its dome, central structure, and base of the M1 mirror. The ELT stands at Cerro Armazones in Chile's Atacama Desert and will be one of the main flagships of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the next two decades. 

Altitude: 3,046 meters

Planned year of technical first light: 2027

Learn more about ESO’s ELT at:

https://elt.eso.org

In 2006, approval was given for the construction of the largest optical telescope on Earth—the ELT.

Credit: E. Garcés/ESO
Duration: 19 seconds
Release Date: April 16, 2025

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