Cranes over the ELT dome

Taken in late September 2023, this aerial photograph looks out over the ever-growing structure of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the expanse of the Atacama Desert below. The cranes dotted around the construction site have been hard at work piecing together the structure of the dome, which will be around 80 metres high and weigh 6100 tonnes when it is finished.