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from the media blurb:
Five-mirror design
1 The 42-metre primary mirror collects light from the night sky and reflects it to a smaller mirror located above it.
2 The 6-metre secondary mirror reflects light back down to a still smaller mirror nestled in the primary mirror.
3 The third mirror relays light to an adaptive flat mirror directly above.
4 The adaptive mirror adjusts its shape a thousand times
a second to correct for distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence.
5 A fifth mirror, mounted on a fast-moving stage, stabilises the image and sends the light to cameras and other instruments on the stationary platform
and...
The main mirror will consist of almost 1000 hexagonal segments, each 1.4 metres across. The gain is substantial: the E-ELT will gather 15 times more light than the largest optical telescopes operating today.
not to mention...(highlighting is mine)
With its 42-metre diameter, the E-ELT will gather 15 times more light than the largest optical telescopes operating today. It will also provide images 15 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope. The E-ELT performances are thus orders of magnitude better than the currently existing facilities.
Can't wait to see those....
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