The Royal Astronomical Society has decided to construct the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).
This telescope will have a main mirror with diameter of 39 m. The Royal Astronomical Society will complete the construction of this telescope in 2022 and it will be considered as the world’s largest optical telescope.
The European Extremely Large Telescope will be used to analyze the first galaxies developed after the Big Bang. Direct images of planets will be developed by this telescope through its observation of the universe in infrared and visible light.
The governing Council of the Southern Observatory (ESO) that has decided to construct the telescope is made up of 15 member states, and 4 countries along with the United Kingdom are yet to approve this decision. Once this approval is received, the next step will include the preparation process of the site for the telescope in Chile. This preparation process will begin towards the end of 2012.
Prof. David Southwood, President of Royal Astronomical Society, stated that the UK has been asked to approve their involvement in the E-ELT project without any delay in order to enable total participation of British engineers and scientists in the E-ELT project. Southwood further commented that this approval will benefit astronomers in UK and those spread all over Europe. The European Extremely Large Telescope will enable the Royal Astronomical Society to answer queries relating to the universe.
Source: http://www.ras.org.uk/
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