Construction on the European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope began in 2014. (G. Vecchia/ESO via SWNS)

By Dean Murray

The world's largest optical telescope is seen taking shape in an amazing image.

The European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being constructed on the Cerro Armazones mountain in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Construction on the ELT began in 2014 and has progressed to the point where the telescope’s vast dome and supporting structures dominate the 3,046‑meter summit.

The ELT is built around a segmented primary mirror 128 feet (39 meters) across, nearly five times wider than those in today’s leading ground‑based optical observatories. Its adaptive optics will yield images 15 times sharper than Hubble’s .

(SWNS) By Talker

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