World’s largest telescopeforFrance

MIRRORS just 25cm across are being used to build a prototype of the world’s largest optical telescope – the equivalent of a single mirror 500 metres in diameter.

Researcher Hervé Le Coroller said the Observatoire de Haute Provence Carlina project would show “exoplanets, regions close to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy – but equally the surface of stars which are several light years away from our own sun”.

Ten sites in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur – noted for clear skies – are being examined to host the new telescope, which does not need a large observatory building.