Almost 400 years ago, the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei used a newly invented optical device - the telescope - to observe the heavens. What he saw was to revolutionise not only astronomy but also the way humankind perceives its place in the world.

Next Step for VLTI ( No Prod 2475 )
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Almost 400 years ago, the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei used a newly invented optical device - the telescope - to observe the heavens. What he saw was to revolutionise not only astronomy but also the way humankind perceives its place in the world. Since the days of Galileo, telescopes have become ever bigger and better and provided scientists with the scientific results that form the base of our current understanding of the Universe
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Now, however, European astronomers and engineers have opened a new chapter in the story of astronomical research, by testing a new telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, operated by the European Astronomy Organisation, ESO and the world's leading facility for ground-based astronomical research. The new telescope is not particularly big. In fact, the telescope mirror that catches the starlight is only 1.8-m in diameter. Fairly small, these days! So why is this telescope so important?
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