In the Chilean Atacama desert, the world’s largest ground-based telescope is currently being built. It has been aptly named the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and is part of the European Southern Observatory ESO. ESO is an intergovernmental organization with 16 member states, including Sweden.
The ELT is an optical reflector telescope where the primary mirror is composed of 798 hexagonal segments. The mirror will be 39.3 m in diameter with a light absorbing surface of 978 m². Above this huge reflector will be a 4.2 meter diameter secondary mirror.
But the mirrors must of course be kept clinically clean and this is where Examec comes into the picture. Together with RFR Solutions in Landskrona, they have the pleasure of manufacturing a “washing machine” for the mirrors in the telescope. The solution has been developed by Fagerström Industrikonsult in Helsingborg, so it really is an all-Scanian collaboration that will ensure that the ELT will be able to observe the universe as much as 15 times sharper and more detailed than the well-known Hubble telescope.
Watch ESO’s ELT trailer here!
For more information, contact Mats Ohlsson, Examec AB, on phone 0708-45 05 67