Overwhelmingly Large Telescope
 | | Organization | European Southern Observatory | | Logo |
 | | Wavelength regime | infrared, Visible light (0.32-12 µm) | | Location | Still to be determined, but the Chajnantor 'altiplano' east of Antofagasta in Chile has a good chance. | | Completion | 2017 .. 2019 | | Webpage | http://www.eso.org/owl | | Physical Characteristics | | Telescope Style | Cassegrain, Coudé | | Diameter | 60 m | | Collecting Area | approx. 3000 m² | | Focal Length | 175 m | | Primary Mirror | Consists of 3048 hexagonal segments each about ~2 m in size and 15cm thick made of Zerodur®. | | Estimated cost | About €1200 million | The Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL) is a conceptual design by the European Southern Observatory organization for a telescope which was intended to have a single aperture of 100 meters in diameter, but was later scaled down to a 60 meter diameter telescope. Because of the complexity and cost of building a telescope of this unprecedented size, ESO has elected to focus on the less ambitious 42 meter diameter Extremely Large Telescope instead. Image File history File links Owl2. ...
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an international astronomical organisation, composed and supported by ten countries from the European Union plus Switzerland. ...
Image File history File links Owllogo. ...
Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of radio waves. ...
The optical spectrum (light or visible spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. ...
Antofagasta is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and steep hills to the east Street in Antofagasta () is a port city and episcopal see in northern Chile, about 700 miles north of Santiago. ...
2017 (MMXVII) will be a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2019 (MMXIX) will be a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an international astronomical organisation, composed and supported by ten countries from the European Union plus Switzerland. ...
50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ...
The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), sometimes just called the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is a proposed design for the next-generation European Southern Observatory optical telescope with a mirror diameter between 30 and 60 meters. ...
While the original 100-m design would not exceed the angular resolving power of interferometric telescopes, it would have exceptional light-gathering and imaging capacity which would greatly increase the depth to which mankind could explore the universe. The OWL could be expected to regularly see astronomical objects with an apparent magnitude of 38; or 1000 times fainter than the faintest object which has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope. Diagram showing a possible layout for an astronomical interferometer, with the mirrors laid out in a parabolic arrangement (similar to the shape of a conventional telescope mirror). ...
// Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ...
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble for his discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way and his creation of Hubbles Law, which calculates the rate at which the universe is expanding. ...
If built, it would be the largest optical telescope ever constructed. It has been claimed that OWL would have a greater mirror surface area than that of all previous professional telescopes combined.
All proposed designs for the OWL are variations on a segmented mirror, since there is no technology available to build a monolithic 60- or 100-meter mirror. The operation of a segmented mirror is somewhat more complicated than a monolithic one, requiring careful alignment of the segments (a technique called cophasing). Experience gained in existing segmented mirrors (for example, the Keck telescope) suggests that the mirror proposed for the OWL is feasible. However, the projected cost (of around €1.5 billion) was uncomfortably high, and the ESO is now working on a smaller Extremely Large Telescope around 42m in diameter.[1][2] A segmented mirror is an array of smaller mirrors designed to act as a single, larger mirrored surface, usually used in large telescopes. ...
The Mauna Kea Observatory, an institute of the University of Hawaii, is considered one of the most important land-based observatories in the world for its isolated, unobstructed views of space without interference from man-made light sources. ...
The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), sometimes just called the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is a proposed design for the next-generation European Southern Observatory optical telescope with a mirror diameter between 30 and 60 meters. ...
It has been estimated that a telescope with a diameter of 80 meters would be able to spectroscopically analyse Earth-size planets around the 40 nearest sun-like stars[1]. As such, this telescope could help in the exploration of extrasolar planets and extraterrestrial life (because the spectrum from the planets could indicate the presence of molecules indicative of life). Extremely high resolution spectrum of the Sun showing thousands of elemental absorption lines (fraunhofer lines) Spectroscopy is the study of matter and its properties by investigating light, sound, or particles that are emitted, absorbed or scattered by the matter under investigation. ...
Infrared Image of a possible extrasolar planet (lower left) in the Constellation Taurus, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. ...
The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, currently used by the SETI project in the search for extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth, the only place in the universe currently known by humans to support life. ...
 Image File history File links OWL_modulardesign. ...
Image File history File links OWL_optdesign. ...
See also Several hundred more observatories (many optical) are listed here. ...
One of the four telescopes that make up the VLT, named Kueyen. ...
The Giant Magellan Telescope is a ground-based telescope planned for completion in 2016. ...
References - ^ Roberto Gilmozzi, Giant Telescopes of the Future, Scientific American, May 2006
Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published monthly since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact