Known as the E-ELT for short, the European Extremely Large Telescope will be located at the European Southern Observatory, the ESO. At the moment, parts of the spyglass are being assembled in Garching in southern Germany. Jochen Liske of the ESO is involved in the project, which is expected to be ready to operate in the coming decade.

Yet astronomers already know the telescope will be used to research black holes. At the moment, an enormous gas cloud is being torn apart by a black hole in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The E-ELT will be used to probe events like this, with the aim of answering key astronomical questions, such as the role of black holes in the development of galaxies.

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