ELT: The New Telescope that could Find the Origin of the Universe

In Chile's Atacama Desert, men and women are building the world's largest telescope. A titanic construction site with record numbers and stakes, isolated from the rest of the world. The Extremely Large Telescope, or ELT, is being built on the summit of Cerro Armazones, a 3,000-metre-high platform in northern Chile. With a primary mirror that will be the largest in the world when it goes into service, the ELT mega-telescope will be able to travel even further into the universe, offering us unprecedented images. A veritable revolution for astronomical researchers, and one we're eagerly awaiting... That's what we're going to see today in this new episode of Looking 4. Enjoy the video.
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00:00 Location and presentation of the ELT
02:25 VLT: Very Large Telescope
03:43 The role of ESO: the European Southern Observatory
04:42 ELT construction progress
07:19 The Extremely Large Telescope: an engineering marvel
08:03 The world's largest primary mirror
09:52 The ELT: A revolution in astronomy
11:38 Other megaprojects underway: GMT and TMT
#construction #ELT #construction
2024 Looking 4 (En) | All rights reserved.

[@DataSmithy]

At 7:40, the narrator says about the JWST: "It's unique position at the heart of the Milky Way allows it to send back images that redefine our image of space". Wow, I guess we have warp drive now.

[@robertterrell3065]

I heard that, too. So why can't we just fly to the stars and observe them up close? LOL

[@icosthop9998]

Go easy on blaming it on the *"Ai"* voice. The voice still has to have input from humans, that was very bad reproofing by the authors of this channel. Like I got to reproof all my comments when I use "Talk Text" , before sending. Many channels are using this very Distinguish old man's "Ai" voice. 🎙

[@bobm4378]

we are already in 'the heart of the milky way' depending on definition ( the 'heart of the city' is not usually the 'centre' ).. JWST actully orbits the solar system, look on the NASA website for a full 3D view of it! :)

[@richardrogers7339]

Yess 😂

[@icosthop9998]

We are no where near the center of the Milky Way. 🧐 We are on the outer edges. We are further than the (Milky Way) "suburbs" , we are in a country ! 😳

[@syntaxed2]

Crazy how the Atacama desert looks like Mars.

[@69ss95]

Contractors are amazing people to have built such a thing!

[@gkindustrialmachine1]

Men are amazing to have built such a thing ... Men! .... Take note women, we are needed to move our species forward. Women can not build such things.

[@alltogethernow121]

ETERNITY - NO beginning, NO ending

[@technotv3227]

The why here, why now ?

[@alltogethernow121]

@@technotv3227 Consider this - humans live on a very small planet, with an inconsequential sun, in a galaxy with zillions of suns, and most probably millions of civilizations - it's hubris to think we humans deserve answers to all of our questions.... We humans might someday have answers to 'why we are here' but for now we have to let the mystery be...

[@Andre_XX]

There are a few iffy things in this video, some of which have already been mentioned by others. The telescope is not placed at the top of a mountain "to be as close as possible to the stars" 5:17. It is put there to get as far as possible out of the earth's atmosphere.

[@OldMtnGeezer]

Exactly. A few thousand feet vs millions, or billions, of light years? There's really no measure for the absurd insignificance of that!

[@philochristos]

That's a big ole telescope. One thing you didn't mention that I think is really cool is that it's supposed to be able to correct for atmospheric distortion. I don't know exactly how it works, but somehow they point a bunch of lasers at the sky that detect the distortion, and then software makes corrections to the image in real time. It'll be pretty amazing if it works.

[@eriktempelman2097]

This is standard practice now. E.g. the Very Large Array telescopes (not far from the ETL) already use this sort of correction. Tom Scott did a great (what else?) video on it. It also captures the ELT.

[@la7dfa]

The laser creates "guide stars" that will be used to correct the image for distortion.

[@catman8965]

It's called "Adaptive Optics". The primary mirror can change its shape to correct for atmospheric distortion as measured from the sodium (yellow) lasers.

[@markdoldon8852]

That system (called adaptive optics does work, and is in use at almost all major telescopes worldwide for decades now. It all depends on massive computing power that can detect the 'flicker' of the light from lasers shining into the upper atmosphere and then correct the shape of the mirror by moving those (739?) hexagonal segments by microns at a time, in real time. The whole massive surface is constantly moving imperceptively to the human eye, to cancel out atmospheric disturbances. This is by far the largest application of the engineering, but it principal the system is well understood.

[@thomaslewis7883]

Good point. Imagine this telescope sitting on the far side of the Moon.

[@chirilas5217]

👏Excellent documentary. Congratulations.👍

[@oker59]

Ten times better resolution than four interferometric optical telescope. Maybe, but the ELT also combines all the light into one image. The four telescope interferometer doesn't combine all four to make a single image. They only combine the light for spectroscopy. When they take a picture, they take a picture with only one of them. So, it would be more accurate to compare the ELT to just one of the four optical interferometer telescope.

[@Pharisaeus]

This is not true. There are imaging instruments at VLTI which can combine interference fringes to get an image - in the past AMBER and MIDI and now PIONIER and GRAVITY can do that. So no, they combine light not only for spectroscopy. But you are correct that it's not a 1:1 comparison because interferometry is not "magic" - not only you don't collect the same amount of light as real mirror of that size, but you also "lose" 90% of the light by bouncing it around into a single focus. As a result you might get better resolution from interferometer, but it will only work for very bright objects. ELT will be able to see significantly fainter objects.

[@DCGreenZone]

I get "Contact" vibes from the construction photos. 😊

[@joecausey8508]

A great movie!!

[@vicsaul5459]

Small moves Ellie,

[@DCGreenZone]

@@vicsaul5459 See LPP Fusion's latest offering in here.

[@dp-kz5cs]

This is so amazing, excitement is an understatement. I've been patiently waiting for news ! Its really coming along nicely ! Green Bank observatory is in my state, I wish I could go see it ❤🙏 one day I WILL! This is wondeful news ! Thank you !

[@greggy9786]

Highly impressed of this idea to search the galaxy.

[@bobcochran1925]

It would be interesting to know what capability these land-based telescopes offer that can’t be provided by Webb and other space-based technology.

[@GRosa250]

The James Webb telescope only collects infrared light. The Extremely Large Telescope will collect visible/near infrared light. Their capabilities are different. A better comparison would be to the proposed LUVOIR space telescope which will have up to a 50 foot primary mirror and will be capable of collecting visible, UV and infrared light.

[@louise_rose]

@@GRosa250 Hubble definitely took pictures on the visible light spectrum though, and space telescopes avoid any intrusion from the atmosphere of Earth.

[@vanguard9067]

With the incredible size of the primary mirror, it’s all about light-gathering capabilities that space-based telescopes cannot deliver.

[@la7dfa]

Not only does it provide other capabillities than WEBB, but you also need more than one observatory as the sky is big and the number of targets and projects are big. But ELT will also have six times the resolution of WEBB and will gain better results in many areas.

[@robinhodgkinson]

Watch Tom Scott’s video and you’ll learn a lot. He toured the place and gives a very good explanation of its capabilities and differences to other telescopes including Webb. Well worth watching... kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6K1g3iwZc51m9Usi=ZdiKIncFMCtychfz

[@broslyons8045]

I glad humans build such machines-

[@dp-kz5cs]

To be a bewilderment for future generations 😂 I wonder what this was for ? We cant read the writing ......sound familiar lol

[@stevefromsaskatoon830]

Actually they're going to find the writings of folks like you two and think we were a bunch of barely literate monkeys .

[@evanherk]

It's not high up to be closer to the stars, but to get out of the atmosphere as much as possible.

[@johnmabary]

Both can be true because they are the same thing.

[@evanherk]

@@johnmabary not at all the same thing.

[@OldMtnGeezer]

A few thousand feet vs millions, or billions, of light years? Staggeringly insignificant. @@johnmabary

[@peterstratten3087]

I wonder if Mac Donald’s will open a branch there

[@tevya017]

Amazing science and engineering.

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

What's next? Ridiculously Large Telescope? Gigantuanly Large Telescope? Ludicously Large Telescope? The Sillyly Large Telescope?

[@leotimtom6637]

It will be called- `` Are You Kidding Me Telescope``.

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

@@leotimtom6637 😄

[@jamescarter8311]

@@leotimtom6637Then “Are You F’ng Kidding Me” telescope.

[@jmchez]

Do you know that the "Overwhelmingly Large Telescope" (OWL) was an actual design. It was abandoned in favor of the ELT because (wait for it), the budget was overwhelmingly large.

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

@@jmchez 😅 No, I didn’t know that.

[@larryslemp9698]

Excellent..!!

[@dumitrulangham1721]

😮😮😮 wow that big!!! Amazing piece of engineering

[@themist9648]

For those unfamiliar with the laser pointing at the sky. It is called Adaptive Optics .It projects the laser in the atmosphere and looks like point star distorted by air turbulence. Because the shape is known the computer calculate and compares the laser image with the distorted star image from big telescope. Then the computer sends corrections to the secondary mirror. Secondary mirror is very thin and has several small electromagnets under the mirror surface like those in a an audio speaker which with the signal from the computer bend the surface of the mirror and correct the image.

[@leandrokees]

Your Videos are GREAT. They image quality is spotless, the voice over is great, the topics are inspiring and the integration of 3d animations and real footage seems unsusally organic. They are, however, a tad too long. I rarely watch over 6 minutes. Not because of the length itself, but because they seem a bit repetitive. Or often promise a theme that is addressed at a later point while delivering a lot of other topics in between. I feel if u break them down in shorter videos you will have as looking at more of them :-)

[@user-FokitisManos]

Quite comprehensive presentation

[@smartdoctorphysicist3095]

Hi thank you very much, great show.

[@watgaz518]

Good video thanks👍

[@sanexpreso2944]

I am proud that the most powerful telescopes in the world are located in Chile

[@RoyChartier]

The JWST orbits around Earth's L2. It is not located at the center of the galaxy.

[@Justwantahover]

If it was it wouldn't be there for millions of years (or longer). 😅

[@icosthop9998]

Yeah, Many people under this video bringing out that mistake.

[@icosthop9998]

Go easy on blaming it on the *"Ai"* voice. The voice still has to have input from humans, that was very bad reproofing by the authors of this channel. Like I got to reproof all my comments when I use "Talk Text" , before sending. Many channels are using this very Distinguish old man's "Ai" voice. 🎙

[@16nowhereman]

And I thought the JWST had somehow bent space to reach the center of the galaxy. I guess not.

[@ralph4879]

Amazing and wonderful technology

[@alex79suited]

This is extremely largely cool. Peace ✌️ 😎.

[@robertwolff3221]

Very professional presentation. Thank-you.

[@walter9724]

My neighbors son in law is an engineer from here in australia who i over there working on it and he divides his time between there and ITER The tokomak fussion reactor. The last big job he worked on was the Burj Khalifa in the UAE

[@Pegasus4213]

Excellent explanation! Would that such cooperation be the complete norm for all nations.. We need to be one!

[@Rustyzip53]

Telescopes are not put on mountaintops to be as "close as possible to the stars". One reason they are put there is to get above all the junk that is in the atmosphere such as dust, smoke, and water vapor as possible. The stars are way too far away for a few thousand feet to make any difference whatsoever.

[@jayaybe1]

When I want to get a tan, I always stand up to be nearer the sun 😊.

[@icosthop9998]

​@@jayaybe1 😂

[@dnjj1845]

Plus the Earth is rotating and orbiting the Sun. Then it really sounds silly.

[@ragnarokofborg]

Anyone else immediately reminded of the "Bifröst generator/directed-energy-weapon" in Thor?

[@bernios3446]

Excellent presentation!

[@Looking4En]

Thank you!

[@Three_Random_Words]

@@Looking4En Is this video Ai generated, or partially ai? *I mean why at **7:44** does it says the JWST is located at the heart of the Milky Way?* Such a statement makes zero sense, and is classic 2024 Ai. That telescope is actually in a Sun-Earth L2 orbit. Are the replies to comments also Ai generated? Often even seemingly negative comments will generate an emoji ♥reply from the channel owner. I did enjoy this video overall though.

[@FrankDijkstra]

@@Three_Random_Wordspretty sure it's AI. The narrator doesn't breathe during talking.

[@Three_Random_Words]

@@FrankDijkstra Not this videos, but I've seen Ai bots give ❤likes to every single reply, even the negative ones.

[@icosthop9998]

​@FrankDijkstra yes And many other channels are using this same *Ai Voice* .

[@ytbpromeneur]

At the beginning of the project, ESO project was the OWL telescope, a telescope with a 100 m primary mirror ! Perhaps the next step with the knowledge acquired with the ELT.

[@very..angry..man..]

The earth is midway between the edge of the milky way and the centre. In the Orion Cygnus arm

[@vineetasinghverma7505]

#BloodCorvinus #Renessme-Andromeda #Bella-Edward(Cullen) #Twilight-SpiralGalaxy!

[@goldwingerppg5953]

It seemed like this video was throwing shade at JWST, which felt odd. JWST can see the earliest light and stars forming in dust clouds that no land base or other telescopes can do. There’s no doubt ELT will be great instrument for scientists to use and they will be able to do maintenance and upgrades, but the video seemed a little insecure. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is an amazing instrument too, especially when all of the telescopes come online.

[@oldwizzy]

JWST is an Infrared radio telescope and, just like visible light, can NOT see through the ZOA of this Milky Way and therefore that part of the sky can NOT be viewed through this radio telescope, this completely unlike X-ray radio telescopes!!

[@icosthop9998]

I don't think I read into it , where they were throwing shade on JWST. All the *Ai* told us, is the difference and the postivies between the two.

[@leecowell8165]

Like it or not JWST cost a small fortune compared to this instrument and it does NOT have the resolve power as well. Now that atmospheric correction has come to the forefront ground based instruments are still a LOT cheaper AND they're repairable... two huge pluses over space based instruments residing at Lagrange points. Unfortunately placing ANYTHING ANYWHERE in space is extremely pricey.

[@goldwingerppg5953]

@@leecowell8165 We basically said the same things. JWST cost was more than a small fortune and took many years and man hours to build and deploy, however, I believe it was worth it. It can gather information no other telescope can and the technology developed to build it will help future missions to deploy scientific instruments that will help advance man’s knowledge of the universe. The more advanced telescopes built, the more tools scientists will have to study the universe, which is a very good thing in my opinion.

[@jaimephoto]

great video and i'm excited about the ELT! However, JWST isn't located at the heart of the Milky Way 🤔

[@robertthomas4329]

Catchy name.

[@ioanbota9397]

I like it

[@Thomas-yr9ln]

Bacon littice and tomato used to be my favorite sandwich. But I did like turkey club sandwiches. They would melt in your mouth. 😊

[@SteveTaunton]

You may want to tell your readers that littice comes from the moon io and is roughly equivalent to lettuce here on earth, littice is a bit sweet for me. However, each to his own.

[@clightning300mi]

Sirius the star. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZiVaIiAg62CpNUsi=mwkr0DDPnIAbf7Pr

[@phil20_20]

It's going to be Gerard Butler in a funny hat 🧢 staring back at us, wondering how he got there. 😅

[@claudelebel49]

What boggles my mind is how they manage to focus multiple mirrors so precisely

[@peterstratten3087]

What boggles my mind is the fact that spiders fart 😂😂😂

[@deanschulze3129]

How do they supply the site with water? Are there wells or do they have to truck the water in and store it?

[@icosthop9998]

Truck water in.

[@larryslemp9698]

Rest assured pal.....they got that covered!!

[@Agustin_R]

Trucks, the well would need to be like 500 meters deep to encounter some water with a lot of minerals and fossils

[@ar-visions]

i wonder how advances in machine learning can play a role in laser correction effectiveness through the atmosphere. we could auto label with simulations on turbulence volumes. at runtime, we could use this to unwarp the image and know what parts are more accurately known in a given moment.

[@kahvac]

I would imagine the difference would be night and day !

[@dumitrulangham1721]

Hopefully it will give us clear image of the cosmos and the planets

[@Pharisaeus]

I'm not sure what exactly you mean - this is already exactly what happens with AO and laser guide stars. 1000 times per second the disturbance of the guide stars are measured and mirror correction is applied.

[@thomaslewis7883]

I'm guessing the same telescope sitting on the Moon would rewrite most of what we know about the universes deepest mysteries.

[@brucefulper4204]

Well it's neat and all, but can it see the footprints on the moon? ~~~~~~~~ (kidding)

[@finn3408]

I look forward to hearing about new discoveries.

[@viralsheddingzombie5324]

Looking for a physical point as the origin of the universe is pointless, because it no longer exists in our spatial dimensions.

[@Exohumanity67]

Elt and magellan will reveal good things for the universe

[@alpinecenter]

One thing is certain. If astronomers locate a planet with conditions favorable to life, huge corporations will vie for the opportunity to exploit and pollute it.

[@thomascoleman6322]

Mother Nature truly is a cruel mistress… she creates beautiful masterpieces of terra forma (Atacama desert) and yet within that beauty, lies deadly traps 😕🤔

[@georgedobler7490]

As early as 2028 = salesmanship language.

[@shahruzpakzad8603]

How do they cool down those mirrors?!

[@8Junio76]

🇨🇱🔭

[@lauracroft6977]

Bout time.

[@finn3408]

Very good.

[@Estenberg]

I often hear the phrase "Bigger is Not always Better". But in This Case - Bigger Definitely IS".

[@robertfontaine3650]

It's a shame we can't get telescopes this size up above the atmosphere. A wonderful beast.

[@jamescarter8311]

SpaceX will herald in the era of giant space telescopes and giant spacecraft in general.

[@bobm4378]

the 'nautilus array' will have an effective area 80 times the JWST :)

[@mariuquidiello]

Do we really need that if we have the Hubble telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope ?

[@kahlesjf]

Cheaper to maintain. Also, the available use of a particular telescope is finite. Scientists and graduate students around the world submit applications for time on the limited number of telescopes that exist. Once accepted, they often have to wait a long time for the slot they are awarded. And why use orbiting satellites for things that a ground-based telescope can perform?

[@MrGarrych]

Be able to get a good look at those StarLink satellites.

[@MountainFisher]

I see them in my 6 inch telescope. Early evening while they're still in the Sun's light you can see them from a fairly dark sky site without even binoculars. In Winter when it is dark by 6:30 if you get away from city lights you can see them up until 830 or so.

[@moremoola]

It'll be absolutely amazing to find other planets with life on it, which is only a matter of time. The problem however is not being able to reach them... Even if we could travel at the speed of light.

[@17cmmittlererminenwerfer81]

7:44 - "Its unique position at the heart of the Milky Way enables it to send back images" Uh, no... the JWST *IS NOT* in the center of our galaxy, geniuses.

[@DiceyJJ]

Let’s get some RADIO telescopes in the L2 range…for some clear “signals”

[@weltraumaffe4155]

They should have named it "The Really Big Big Big Telescope".

[@atlantic_love]

Biggus Dickus Telescopus :D

[@fisterB]

Magnificent constructions but the terrible names are the stuff of legends. Remember the planned and cancelled OWL? Overwhelmingly Large Telescope.

[@mpetersen6]

Nah, they should have named the Acme Telescope and used Willy Coyote peering through a telescope as the logo. 😉

[@Justwantahover]

They were planning to build a 100 meter telescope. I think it was going to be called the Overwhelmingly Large telescope. 😅

[@mpetersen6]

@@Justwantahover At some time in the future I foresee telescopes built in space on the order of a kilometer or more. Light gathering and images capable of seeing weather patterns in the atmospheres of planets circling other sun's. I don't expect them to be easy to build or operate. The imaging and focusing will be challenging. I would also expect them to very slow to change from one target star to another.

[@upperccutt]

We may regret wanting to know.

[@kuileesalangdron8462]

Lol! We live in an experiment under a dome! Lol

[@808-PFH-Kanaka-Rights]

if this is so, then the protest against TMT can finally come to an end for TMT would no longer be needed. native hawaiian elders can finally lay at peace knowing that they succeeded protecting Mauna kea and protecting what is left on that mountain.

[@kevinosullivan2440]

Most of us already know how the universe was created...or it's origin.

[@Larrythebassman]

❤❤❤❤ my God it is beautiful to be human and look at these toys. Look at these toys. I can’t wait to take a tour in a tour bus to go to the site. Have some chips and look through the telescope. Ha ha ha ha ha ha I love this technology. Thank you for making this video.

[@user-yl5sq1eb4r]

Until we develop technology like Star Trek, all we can do is look out at it.

[@albertotripoli7276]

How does it compare with JWST ?

[@kirk902]

Perhaps there are millions of universes.

[@freddyl56]

So you’re spoiling it for us all? Thanks, i was watching

[@mieczyslawherba2723]

To get the right answer, one has to ask right question. To find the origin of the Universe, one has to know what is the subject of interest and where to look for it.

[@akink9620]

Let's hope so because the scientists haven't got a clue

[@alexlabs4858]

What are they gonna name the next one? The unbelievably large telescope?

[@SteveTaunton]

McDonalds has been awarded the contract for that. They are leaning toward the Mcnormace. Taco Bell came close. They were going to call it the TACO (TOTALLY AWESOME COLLIMATED OBSERVATORY)

[@dougg1075]

Imagine if we could put that on the moon.

[@Marc816]

Will it be better than the JWST?

[@sentientflower7891]

Better is not a meaningful term since the JWST sees things this telescope cannot see.

[@icosthop9998]

​@@sentientflower7891 true

[@icosthop9998]

@Marc816 Watch the video again. They pointed out many of the different capabilities and differences between the two telescopes.

[@dragansavic39]

1.5 billon of dollars !!!!!! That huge amount of money Pentagon spends in less than a day !

[@normanmerrill1241]

Thanks….

[@16nowhereman]

The James Webb Space Telescope has given us evidence that there is no life in the Universe. Now all the new technologically advanced telescopes will give us more evidence that we are alone in the Universe.

[@Kulumuli]

Maybe the biggest ever telescope to be constructed on earth. I guess eventually there will be bigger telescopes in space.

[@alexciocca4451]

What it will find is dark matter is Oreo cookies without the iceing

[@petervisor]

They didn’t have to decapitate a mountain to build that

[@Rocky-xx2zg]

Where did the funding for this come from?

[@laurancedoyle4231]

"In order to be closer to the stars ..." is not the reason for building the observatory at the top of a mountain - it is so there's the least amount of atmosphere to look through.

[@moejaime2654]

AMAZING TELESCOPE !!! FARTED OOPS THAT WAS A SHART !!

[@p42uynot59]

How can an Earth Bound telescope be any better then the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)?? I'm sure it'll be great, but I'd rather we put something like this in space,,,, maybe the Darkside of the moon.

[@lauracroft6977]

America needs to build a giant telescope on the dark side of the moon.

[@snowgorilla9789]

News Flash first objects observed after carefull analysis and much debate have been called Storlink, but debate rages as some claim Starlink. Lots and lots of them.

[@user-ti3rx8ur3y]

❤สมนึก สุนันท์(7)😊😮

[@Alachua03]

What exactly do "scientists in a frenzy" look like? Is their hair on fire? LOL!

[@mieczyslawherba2723]

Imagine that you lost something you don't know what and where in unknown area. How to find it? No hope!

[@Leonardo-ql1qu]

At 1:55 min.: '..chosen not for its similarities with the landscapes of faraway stars...'? Give me a break!

[@chrisfrancis6101]

Ah yes the search of the folly! We will never know this in our life time unless the aliens tell us its so!! Lol come on guys!!

[@laurancedoyle4231]

The James Webb telescope is not at the heart of the Milky Way. It's in orbit around the Earth, which is in the outskirts of the Milky Way.

[@Justwantahover]

The mirror is 39 meters wide and a B-double is only 25 meters long. 😅

[@harryape9059]

Before Musk sets his sights on The Red Planet, perhaps he should figure out how to keep his cars from catching fire.

[@ronleight9341]

So when they say 2028, they really mean the early to mid 2040's!

[@leecowell8165]

Yes but much better later than never.

[@icosthop9998]

Yep , Putting the JWST into space was like at least a twelve year overrun . 😒

[@bobm4378]

@@icosthop9998 well they are sending a bigger better one to follow JWST, does visible light too!!