Big Eyes on the Skies

[PeterM]

This gives an idea of European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) size compared to other big scopes..... I think mine is the fullstop somewhere in there.

http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1617aa/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialSignIn&utm_source=Facebook

[Atmos]

I was saddened when OWL (OverWhelmingly Large Telescope) was cancelled :(

[xelasnave]

Hi Peter thanks for posting that link.
I was reading about it today but could not find much in the way of detail, optical path and fl in particular.
What a monster.
Alex

[janoskiss]

Can't believe they forgot Hubble.

Try this for a visual comparoo (or see attached):
http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Comparison_optical_telescope_primar y_mirrors.svg_.png

And check out this DeepSkyVideos report for some good info on the project (as well as on OWL ;)) and a tour of the site (which looks like the surface of Mars):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450jt8LlcnY

It's going to cost €1b in round figures. By contrast the James Webb space telescope that's going to be smaller than the EELT secondary is costing ~10x that. Ground based astronomy really delivers when it comes to aperture per dollar. And €1b for a world class instrument that's likely to serve science for the next half a century is petty cash really.

[astroron]

Try this for a visual comparoo (or see attached):
http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Comparison_optical_telescope_primar y_mirrors.svg_.png

And check out this DeepSkyVideos report for some good info on the project (as well as on OWL ;)) and a tour of the site (which looks like the surface of Mars):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450jt8LlcnY

It's going to cost €1b in round figures. By contrast the James Webb space telescope that's going to be smaller than the EELT secondary is costing ~10x that. Ground based astronomy really delivers when it comes to aperture per dollar. And €1b for a world class instrument that's likely to serve science for the next half a century is petty cash really.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=janoskiss;1252274]Can't believe they forgot Hubble.

Quote
An infographic that compares the size of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) dome with that of other "major ground-based telescopes, "
So they didn't forget Hubble at all,
It was not considered as it fly's around the earth at about 400kms High. ;)

End

[janoskiss]

Okay, fair enough my opening remark was asking for it given the caption to the linked image.

But my point is that in the public eye Hubble is synonymous with pro telescopes and astronomy research, whereas most ordinary folk would not be able to relate to VLT, LBT, etc. For most people to see the ELT next to Hubble would be more inspiring than any of those other comparisons.

And that's really the point of this sort of promotional material: to get the message out to the public and get them excited about the project. The pros don't need them; they already know what it's all about and how much bigger a 39m scope is than a 6m etc.

[astroron]

It's Not about Mirrors,its about Domes/Structures.
Heading states.
Size comparison between the E-ELT and other telescope "domes"

Cheers:thumbsup: