"Massive Sunspots Steal the Spotlight in Spectacular Space Photo"

A stunning image captures the rising sun behind the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile's Atacama Desert, showcasing the active sunspots on the sun's surface. The ELT, set to be the world's largest telescope when completed in 2028, will provide clearer views of the night sky from its location atop Cerro Armazones. With a 127-foot-diameter mirror, the ELT will enable astronomers to study Earth-like planets, dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and the earliest galaxies. The image was taken by an ESO instrumentation engineer from the peak of Cerro Paranal, where ESO's Very Large Telescope is located.