UK commits £88m to the world's largest telescope
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The UK is to invest £88m in the construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), which will be the world’s biggest optical stargazing facility.
Several British institutions are already contributing to the development of optics and instruments for E-ELT, which is scheduled for completion in Mount Cerro Armazones in Chile. in 2013.
E-ELT will be housed inside a structure the size of Wembley stadium, with a 39m-wide primary mirror (made up from almost 800 1.4m-wide hexagonal sections) collecting 15 times more light than any existing optical telescope.
Intended to investigate visible and infra-red light wavelengths from deeper into the universe than humanity has been able to look before, the telescope will investigate planets orbiting other stars and is hoped to be able to image some of the oldest stars and galaxies in the sky, helping to explain the origin and evolution of the universe.
The project will cost a total of £1.1bn and is a collaboration between 14 countries. The UK’s contribution, over 10 years, is in addition to its £18m a year subscription to the European Southern Observatory (ESO) organisation, which oversees the European telescopes in Chile.
Contracts associated with building the telescope worth some £9m have already been placed within the UK, and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills expects this to rise to some £90m or higher by the end of the project.
‘This significant investment reaffirms the government’s commitment to cutting-edge science,’ said science minister David Willetts in a statement. ‘It will ensure the UK plays a leading role in a ground-breaking international research project and our world-class research base has access to the latest equipment.’
The E-ELT’s 39m primary mirror will comprise 798 1.4m sections, prototypes of which are being made in Wales
The UK’s contribution to E-ELT includes development of adaptive optics systems, which will help the telescope produce steady images despite the constant movement of the gases in the atmosphere.
The telescope’s secondary mirror, which focuses the light collected by the huge primary mirror onto the optical instruments at its heart, will be able to change its shape many times per second to compensate for atmospheric fluctuations, which produce the characteristic twinkle of distant stars.
Durham University is leading two projects on adaptive optics, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC), which is based at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh and run by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Prof John Womersley, chief executive of the STFC, said: ‘E-ELT is one of the highest priotities for the STFC and the UK astronomy community. It not only has the potential for enormous benefit to UK industry but will be the world’s pre-eminent astronomical observatory for years to come.’
Other contributions from the UK to E-ELT include the manufacture of prototype mirror segments at Glyndwr University in North Wales, which has expertise in optical metrology and high-precision polishing. Glyndwr is producing seven full-size segments as part of a €5m project which began last year.
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Readers' comments (12)
Subopottsboyle | 5 Mar 2013 1:14 pm
Why? Why? Why? When the country is skint, cuts are made across the full spectrum of society and when a large portion of society is deemed illiterate & innumerate
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Editor's comments | 5 Mar 2013 1:14 pm
To name one reason alone, because of the industrial spin-offs. However, the arguments in favour of basic research are well established and covered in great depth in The Engineer and elsewhere.
TiglathIII | 5 Mar 2013 1:29 pm
Call it "Revelation". Seriously will there be a naming competition?
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Icarus | 5 Mar 2013 1:47 pm
We have so much to offer this project, and at the same time stay at the cutting edge of this particular technology. The editor's comments are well made and true, we have world class expertise let's make sure others notice and be in awe!
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ken | 5 Mar 2013 2:08 pm
For the UK government to invest this large amount of money to look into Deep Space,when it can't see further than its nose, is beyond me. Evidently this bequest is supported by every person who is looking for a home, job, or even food in extreme cases. Maybe this money will be raised from Bankers bonuses.
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Dan | 5 Mar 2013 2:36 pm
Why do idiots comment on money they know nothing about. Science & technological spending returns more money to the economy then anything else reason we don't spend more on it is because we are handing out benefits to people who cant be bothered to work/learn. Which is why they have a small mind set and don't want to discover things in the universe I say give them £200m and build a few more.
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Jonathan Howes | 5 Mar 2013 3:46 pm
It has been said before but not often concisely:
Cost of doing fundamental research:- Far less than the cost of not doing it.
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Anonymous | 5 Mar 2013 4:12 pm
I understand why such work is necessary and why the UK must be part of projects like this. But it must be galling for industrialists to see the government spending millions in South America when they find it difficult to obtain funding from banks for UK based projects.
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Editor's comments | 5 Mar 2013 4:12 pm
The components and equipment for the telescope will be manufactured in Europe — the point of this grant is to maximise the amount in the UK. The telescope itself will be in South America, certainly, but choice of sites for such facilities are somewhat constrained by the need for high mountains with clear skies. Good luck finding those in Britain.
Victor de Botton | 6 Mar 2013 7:02 am
"oldest stars and galaxies" and "explain the origin and evolution of the universe" are very pretentious sayings from scientists and the money providers should re assess the basics underlying scientists' vague and especially uncheckable formulations and also the parameters measurable at the E-ELT. Will it be possible to measure frequencies and not just wavelengths? Frequencies are the missing leg of astronomy observatories.
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Don Isiko | 6 Mar 2013 10:50 am
If every time this country went through hard times we focused on "more important" things I don't think the UK would be where it is now, let alone the world.
Its a free for all world out there as far as I'm concerned, if somebody out there obtains millions worth of funding to make the fluffiest mittens you've ever seen - who are you to say that money was ill spent?
We don't solve problems and make discoveries by all walking down the same path, we progress by leaving each to their own.
Good article, this certainly seems cutting edge.
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Anonymous | 6 Mar 2013 12:34 pm
If anything, I'd say the UK contribution is small on the scale of the total project fund - yes we're in economically difficult times, but actually what the government needs to do is more of this kind of investment to stimulate the economy rather than draining money away from it which is what they generally seem to want to do. These little gems of spending offer hope, but the UK still spends far too little on scientific and engineering R&D.
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