A sneak peek of M2’s metallic cradle | ELT updates

Measuring meters across and weighing 12 tonnes, the M2 mirror of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be the largest ever secondary mirror on a telescope. Within the #ELT, it will be held by a specially designed cell, currently being tested and which you can discover in this video. The cell must ensure the mirror’s correct shape down to the size of a virus, and position it with the accuracy of the width of a human hair! Learn more about ESO’s ELT at: Watch our ELT playlist here: Credit: ESO. Directed by: Angelos Tsaousis Editing: Angelos Tsaousis Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida Written by: Bárbara Ferreira, Martin Wallner Consultants: Joan Manel Casalta, Albert Tomas, Michele Cirasuolo Footage and photos: ESO, Angelos Tsaousis, Martin Wallner, Samuel Santana Tschudi, Mahdi Zamani Music: Jon Kennedy – Flux Acknowledgement: Sener, ALBA-CELLS #astronomy #science #extremelylargetelescope #telescope #mirror #sener #eso #spain #chile