Four European telescopes in danger

1994/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronomia

European Southern Observatory is the organization that is carrying out the VLT (Very Large Telescope) project on European optical astronomy. The Andean Paranal Hill aims to install four telescopes of eight meters high, but lately obstacles have been created. In fact, costs have been growing (from 30 billion pesetas or 1.5 billion pounds to 40 billion or 2 billion pounds) and those responsible have changed several times.

As a result, one or two of the four optical telescopes were thought to be left unrealized, but at the meeting in Garching, Germany, European participants decided to do so. However, some model-optics systems and three small interferometry telescopes are about to take place.