The largest telescope that will ever be built*

The asterisk is important. ■ AD: 👨‍💻 NordVPN’s best deal is here: - with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ■ More on the ELT: @ESOobservatory The Extremely Large Telescope, in Paranal, Chile, is probably going to be the largest optical telescope that will ever be constructed. I was invited out there by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council and the European Southern Observatory, and I wasn’t going to turn down a chance like that. 📰 DISCLAIMER While the STFC and ESO invited me and arranged the logistics after arrival into the Antofagasta region, I was not paid for this (not even my travel costs) and I have sole editorial control over the video. This is not an advert. 👥 CREDITS Editor: Michelle Martin Script assistant: Laura Conlon Audio mix: Graham Haerther and Manni Simon at Standard Studios Thanks to Alex Fyans, Hannah Conduit, and William Taylor from STFC; to Francisco Rodríguez, Juan Carlos, and Michele Cirasuolo from ESO; and to everyone I met at Paranal! 🖼 IMAGE CREDITS Images and footage from ESO is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license First image of an explanet: Stars orbiting the supermassive black hole: VLT light path: VLTI delay lines: ELT render: 📽 PREVIOUS VIDEOS Previously, in Arecibo: and in Parkes: 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: (you can find contact details and social links there too) 📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: ❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: ➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: 👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: