ESO 3.6 m Telescope
Optical reflecting telescope in Chile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The ESO 3.6 m Telescope is an optical reflecting telescope run by the European Southern Observatory at La Silla Observatory, Chile since 1977, with a clear aperture of about 3.6 metres (140 in) and 8.6 m2 (93 sq ft) area.
Alternative names | The ESO 3.6m at La Silla |
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Part of | La Silla Observatory |
Location(s) | Chile |
Coordinates | 29°15′39″S 70°43′54″W |
Organization | European Southern Observatory |
Altitude | 2,400 m (7,900 ft) |
First light | 1977 |
Telescope style | infrared telescope reflecting telescope |
Diameter | 3.566 m (11 ft 8.4 in) |
Angular resolution | 0.2 arcsecond |
Collecting area | 8.8564 m2 (95.329 sq ft) |
Website | www |
Related media on Commons | |
The telescopes uses the HARPS instrument and has discovered more than 130 exoplanets. In 2012, it discovered Alpha Centauri Bb, a now-disproven possible planet in the Alpha Centauri system only 4.4 light-years away.[1]
ESO collaborated with CERN on building the telescope.[2][3] It saw first light in 1976 and entered full operations in 1977.[4] When completed it was one of the world's largest optical telescopes. It received an overhaul in 1999 and a new secondary in 2004. The ESO 3.6-metre Telescope has supported many scientific achievements and presented ADONIS, one of the first adaptive optics system available to the astronomical community in the 1980s.