Overwhelmingly Large Telescope

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**Overwhelmingly Large Telescope**
Physical Characteristics
Image:Owl2.jpg
Organization	European Southern Observatory
Logo	Image:Owllogo.gif
Wavelength regime	infrared, Visible light (0.32-12 µm)
Location	Still to be determined, but the Chajnantor 'altiplano' east of Antofagasta in Chile has a good chance.
Completion	2017 .. 2019
Webpage	http://www.eso.org/owl
Telescope Style	Cassegrain, Coudé
Diameter	100 m
Collecting Area	7800 m²
Focal Length	175 m
Primary Mirror	Consists of 3048 hexagonal segments each about ~2 m in size and 15cm thick made of Zerodur®.
Estimated cost	About US$ 1200 million

The Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL) is a conceptual design by the European Southern Observatory organization for a telescope which is intended to have a single aperture of 100 meters in diameter.

Whilst this design would not exceed the angular resolving power of interferometric telescopes, it would have exceptional light-gathering and imaging capacity which would greatly increase the depth to which mankind could explore the universe. The OWL is expected to regularly see astronomical objects with an apparent magnitude of 38; or 1000 times fainter than the faintest object which has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope.

If built, it would be the largest optical telescope ever constructed. It has been claimed that OWL would have a greater mirror surface area than that of all previous professional telescopes combined.

All proposed designs for the OWL are variations on a segmented mirror, since there is no technology available to build a monolithic 100-meter mirror. The operation of a segmented mirror is somewhat more complicated than a monolithic one, requiring careful alignment of the segments (a technique called cophasing). Experience gained in existing segmented mirrors (for example, the Keck telescope) suggests that the mirror proposed for the OWL is feasible. However informal comments from a researcher with connections to the project have noted that "ESO is now focusing on an ELT of more or less 40 m" due to the cost and complexity of the 100 m design.

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