E-ELT: 40 meter optical telescope project

[Crispy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18396853



Construction has just been approved for the European Extremely Large Telescope (how do they think up these snappy names?). With a primary mirror 40m wide, it will gather 16x as much light as the current biggest optical telescopes (10m wide) and will be able to directly image rocky worlds around other planets.

It will be able to take pictures of planets orbiting other stars.

Bloody hell.

 

[8ball]

It will be able to take pictures of planets orbiting other stars.

Bloody hell.

Ah, but will it be able to take a snap of the lunar landers and moon buggy that were left on the moon?

No it won't. And I think we all know why, don't we?

 

[TitanSound]

Ah, but will it be able to take a snap of the lunar landers and moon buggy that were left on the moon?

No it won't. And I think we all know why, don't we?

Some cunt nicked them for scrap.

 

[8ball]

Some cunt nicked them for scrap.

Let's not bring that all up again.

 

[TitanSound]

Let's not bring that all up again.

Wat?

 

[2hats]

European Extremely Large Telescope (how do they think up these snappy names?)

I always liked OWL - the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope.

To answer your question it involves copious amounts of alcohol.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I prefer OPT

Outrageously Priced Telescope

 

[8ball]

Wat?

Speculation about the locating of socially disadvantaged demographics on the moon...

 

[TitanSound]

Speculation about the locating of socially disadvantaged demographics on the moon...

You elitist bastard.

 

[8ball]

I prefer OPT

Outrageously Priced Telescope

Less than 1000th the price of bailing out Spain?

I'd call that a bargain, especially since we'll be bailing out Spain or another Euro country again several times this year.

 

[8ball]

You elitist bastard.

It was kind of the other way round, really.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Less than 1000th the price of bailing out Spain?

I'd call that a bargain, especially since we'll be bailing out Spain or another Euro country again several times this year.

But is it really needed?

 

[8ball]

But is it really needed?

No, but they're not going to give up on this single currency madness til we're all eating rocks.

 

[TitanSound]

It was kind of the other way round, really.

Don't try and change your story now. You've been marked me old mucker. I'll be keeping an eye on you.

 

[Cid]

But is it really needed?

Yes.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Yes.

why?

 

[Cid]

why?

For Science.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

For Science.

Isn't making sure your country isn't living in poverty a bit more important right now? I'm not against it at all, but it's not really a massive priority is it? How much are the British going to give to this project on top of the billions it's lending to bail out countries?

Or is it going to discover new worlds with new riches that we can go and plunder?

 

[Cid]

Slightly geeky references aside investing in scientific research in many ways makes a lot more sense than investing in people who lose money investing in money.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Slightly geeky references aside investing in scientific research in many ways makes a lot more sense than investing in people who lose money investing in money.

How very true. Maybe poor people should have a whip round and buy a gigantic rocket, fill it with bankers and politicians and shoot it off into space, never to return

 

[Crispy]

It's only a billion euros, spread between many nations. Pocket change in the grand scheme of things.

 

[2hats]

It's only a billion euros, spread between many nations. Pocket change in the grand scheme of things.

Over several years too.

European countries collectively spend about 200 times that every year on machines of war (and roughly the same amount again servicing their debt).

I know which cutting edge R&D I'd rather see an economy built around.

 

[Cid]

It's easy to forget that spending money on something doesn't just make the money disappear. Especially something like this... for example I imagine the lens would be made by Schott or similar, so from a German point of view that money is going into their industrial economy. You'll get research funded off the back of that, lots of PhDs to be had, lots of potential for developments in optics, which is always a healthy market. This is the kind of stuff we need to bolster if we want to be less reliant on financial services.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

It's only a billion euros, spread between many nations. Pocket change in the grand scheme of things.

I know. I'm only joking

 

[2hats]

The groundbreaking for this is due tomorrow starting with the top literally being blown off the peak of Cerro Armazones in the Atacama.

Live stream here from 1730 BST. Explosives being detonated at 1900 BST, apparently.

e2a: Detonation due 1910 BST.