The world's largest vertical telescope, which links four telescopes, has been has been created in Chile by astronomers at the Paranal Observatory. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is, indeed, the largest single such device on Earth, measuring an impressive 130 metres (424 foot) in diameter.
Astronomers hope that the new device will help to give them a much more intimate look at the universe than has ever been the case. That is, of course, largely due to the fact that scientists have never before been able to successfully link more than three telescopes of this kind.
Indeed, the team in Chile tried to link the telescopes in March 2011, but that effort ultimately proved fruitless. Now, though, it is hoped that the device, the biggest ground-based optical telescope on Earth, will offer an unprecedented level of spatial resolution.
And according to Frederic Gonte, the head of instrumentation at Paranal, its creation marks a "milestone in our quest for uncovering secrets of the Universe".
Speaking to BBC, he explained: "It's an extremely important step because now we know that we're ready to do real science. From now on, we'll be able to observe things we were not able to observe before."
Recalling the construction process, Mr Gonte observed that the team used an instrument called Pionier, which replaces a multitude of mirrors with a single optical microchip, to link the four telescopes together.
Jean-Philippe Berger, a French astronomer involved in the project, explained that this did not work at the first time of asking. This time, though, it was apparent that the instruments were working correctly, he said.
"Last time," Mr Beger observed, "the atmospheric conditions and vibrations in the system were so bad that the data was just worthless. We stopped after half an hour knowing that it wouldn't improve.
"So, this attempt is the real first one to carry out observations for several hours straight to test the system in different conditions."
It has been confirmed by the team in Chile that the impressive new system is to be made available to the entire astronomical community, meaning that anyone visiting the facility in the South American country will have access to the cutting-edge technology.
