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What it is : The Extremely Large Telescope , which will be the humans ’s largest telescope when it begins operations in 2028

When it was taken : Aug. 28 , 2023 , and published Sept. 4 , 2023

The construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile�s Atacama Desert is silhouetted against the rising sun displaying sunspots.

The construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert is silhouetted against the rising sun displaying sunspots.

Where it is : At the peak of Cerro Armazones , at an elevation of 9,850 groundwork ( 3,000 meters ) ,   in Chile ’s Atacama Desert

Why it ’s so peculiar : Thisstunning imageof a sunrise behind a construction web site not only highlights one of humanity ’s next bang-up ground - based telescopes but also reveals how activethe sunis right now .

In front of the sun ’s disk is the framework of the 262 - metrical unit - tall ( 80 m ) sword dome of the $ 1.56 billion ( 1.45 billion euro ) passing Large Telescope ( ELT ) , which is currently being built by the European Southern Observatory ( ESO ) .

A rendering of a massive telescope in the middle of the desert

The telescope will be perch atop Cerro Armazones , a hatful in Chile ’s Atacama Desert , far above the heavyset part of Earth ’s atmosphere , where it will get much clearer horizon of the Nox sky . The Atacama is also one of the driest places on Earth , with some portion receive annual rainfall of less than 0.2 in ( 5 millimeters ) , according to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Cerro Armazones has about 320 clear nights per twelvemonth and zero low-cal pollution , according toESO .

When finish , the ELT — which you canwatch being make — will have a 127 - foot - diam ( 39 me ) mirror ; for comparing , the diameter of theJames Webb Space Telescope ’s mirror is 21.7 foot ( 6.6 m ) . The ELT ’s mighty mirror will finally rotate 360 point on 36 stationary trolleys and weigh about 6,700 ton ( 6,100 metrical tons ) . The giant scope will allow stargazer to observe Earth - like planets around other stars in the inhabitable zone where sprightliness could exist , probe dark topic and sorry push , study black holes , and see the very first galaxies back to just 380,000 year after theBig Bang .

In July , ESOannouncedthat the ELT was half - built . It ’s due for " first illumination " in 2028 , according toESO .

a close-up image of a sunspot

— Space photo of the week : Ring Nebula glitter like a jelly - filled doughnut in Webb telescope ’s latest image

— Space photo of the workweek : Hubble captures one of our galaxy ’s oldest objects

— Space picture of the week : A cosmic ' shade ' peer through the universe ’s yesteryear

an illustration of a telescope in orbit above Earth

If you look carefully at the sunlight in the image , you ’ll see pocket-sized ( yet actually planet - size of it ) sunspots on its surface . Sunspots are darker cluster of intense magnetic field that well up from cryptical within the Lord’s Day and oftentimes acquire vehement solar flare . It ’s remember that sunspots will preserve to increase as the sun go up solar utmost , which couldarrive as presently as the end of this year .

The ikon and an accompanyingtime lapseof the sunrise were shot by ESO instrumentation engineer Eduardo Garcés from 14 miles ( 23 kilometers ) aside on the peak of Cerro Paranal , where ESO ’s Very great Telescope has been examining the night sky since 1998 .

An image of the Milky Way captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope. At the center of the MeerKAT image the region surrounding the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole blazes bright. Huge vertical filamentary structures echo those captured on a smaller scale by Webb in Sagittarius C’s blue-green hydrogen cloud.

a photo of a nebula that looks like two overlapping circles

a deep field image of thousands of galaxies

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.

An illustration of a satellite crashing into the ocean after an uncontrolled reentry through Earth�s atmosphere

The space balloon

a map showing where the Soviet satellite may fall

An illustration of a burning satellite hurdling back into Earth�s atmosphere

An artist�s illustration of a fireball entering the Earth�s atmosphere at sunset.

Three-dimensional rendering of an HIV virus

an illustration of Mars

three prepackaged sandwiches

Tunnel view of Yosemite National Park.

A scuba diver descends down a deep ocean reef wall into the abyss.

Remains of the Heroon, a small temple built for the burial cluster of Philip II at the Museum of the Royal Tombs inside the Great Tumulus of Aigai (Aegae)