ELT main mirror segments shipped to Chile

The first 18 segments of the main mirror (M1) of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) have been delivered to ESO and shipped to Chile. Once they arrive, the segments will be transported to the ELT Technical Facility, at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the country’s Atacama Desert, where they will be coated in preparation for their future installation on the telescope main structure. Unable to be physically made in one piece, M1 will consist of 798 individual segments arranged in a large hexagonal pattern, with an additional 133 being produced to facilitate the recoating of segments. With a diameter of more than 39 metres, it will be the largest telescope mirror in the world.