That globe trotting spy, James Bond, is back in a new movie called Quantum of Solace. One of the locations he visits in this movie is the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The VLT consists of four 8.2 meter telescopes. The telescopes can operate independently or they can combine the light from them to get the light gathering power of a single 16 meter telescope. Several smaller telescopes can be added to the mix to give the resolution of a single telescope 200 meters across!
This is not the first time as observatory has been used in a Bond film. Arecibo Observatory, a large radio telescope, was seen in the movie Goldeneye.
I have never been to the VLT and am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen.
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
But the important question is can the light from the combined telescopes be focused into a laser death beam that threatens civilization as we know it?
ReplyDeleteLooks bond-ish. When you vote today.... do NOT write in the fiendish orbscorbs!
ReplyDeleteNice try, Orbs (or should I call you "Orbsfinger"?) Always looking for the superweapon!
ReplyDelete