Astronomers back Chile to host world's biggest telescope

[n2doc]

By Graciela Amlendras, in Paranal for AFP
Published: 1:34PM GMT 12 Feb 2010

That is why an international group of four professional star gazers have banded together to back Chile's Atacama desert as home to the world's biggest telescope, to be built in 2018 based on its geographical advantages.

The high-altitude Armazones mountain in the desert in northern Chilean desert is the perfect place for the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) to be set up, because of skies that are cloud-free 360 nights a year, they say.


The four astronomers - two Chileans, an Italian and a German - were in the desert this week to evaluate its suitability compared to the main other contender: the Spanish isle of La Palma in the Canary Islands off western Africa.

"We are talking about the biggest telescope in the world, the biggest for a long time to come. That means we have to choose the best spot. Chile has a superb location. It's the best in the world, there's no doubt," said the Italian, Massimo Tarenghi.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7221680/Astronomers-back-Chile-to-host-worlds-biggest-telescope.html

[Chemisse]

1. I love the acronym: Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)

Anyway, what a cool project. That and the awesome photos I saw on a different thread, make me want to visit Chili.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. I prefer Big-Ass Telescope -- BAT.

That's the fourth time in the past week I've used the word 'bat' in my posts. I don't know what it is. :shrug:

[Chemisse]

3. Haha! I like that even better. nt