The Organisation DOI: 10.18727/0722-6691/5018 A Long Expected Party — The First Stone Ceremony for the Extremely Large Telescope Tim de Zeeuw1 Fernando Comerón1 Roberto Tamai1 ePOD/J. P. AstorgaePOD/J. P. 1 ESO The ceremony to seal the time capsule, signalling the beginning of construction of the dome and main telescope struc- ture for the Extremely Large Telescope, took place at the Paranal Observatory on 26 May 2017, in the presence of the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and many international guests. Owing to high winds, the ceremony could not take place as planned on the levelled site on Cerro Armazones, but instead was held at the Paranal Residencia. A brief report of the event and its organi- sation is presented, and the welcome cials from the governments of the latter Figure 1. ELT Project Manager Roberto Tamai illus- speech by the ESO Director General is two countries. trates to President Bachelet the approximate real size of each of the nearly 800 segments that will included. comprise the ELT primary mirror, in front of a model The significance of the event in the history reproduction of the telescope and enclosure, flanked of ESO was symbolised by the presence by the Director of Operations, Andreas Kaufer (left), Late May is becoming a time for major of the former Directors General Lodewijk and the Director General, Tim de Zeeuw. highlights in the history of the Paranal Woltjer, Harry van der Laan and Catherine Observatory. On 26 May 2017, over two Cesarsky, as well as the Director General tion works. Despite sustained efforts hundred guests from Europe, Chile and designate Xavier Barcons (see Figure 8). until the last possible minute, under the rest of the world gathered at the The leaders of major observatories and nearly heroic conditions that involved Paranal Residencia to celebrate the First astronomy organisations including the crews staying at Armazones overnight Stone of the Extremely Large Telescope Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter waiting for the winds to abate, the day (ELT), as well as the connection of the Array (ALMA), the Asso ciation of Universi- before the event it was decided to revert Observatory to the Chilean power grid. ties for Research in Astronomy (AURA), to a backup plan already prepared in This was exactly 19 years and one day the Carnegie Insti tution for Science, cooperation with the Presidential team after Antu, the first Unit Telescope of the Gemini, the Giant Magellan Telescope and to host the ceremony at the Paranal VLT, saw first light, and one year and (GMT), the Large Synoptic Survey Tele- Residencia. This may well have been a one day after the signature of the largest scope (LSST), the National Radio Astron- blessing in disguise, as the comfortable contract in the history of ground-based omy Observatory (NRAO), The University environment of the Residencia made astronomy, for the construction of the of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) the ceremony much more interactive dome and main structure of the ELT. and the International Astronomical Union and protected the attendants from the (IAU) were also present. Managers of hostile conditions on that day at Cerro The date of the ceremony was carefully companies that are key to the ELT con- Armazones, although at the cost of chosen to allow the presence of the struction, most notably Astaldi and reducing the obvious symbolism of a President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, SAESA, were among the participants as ceremony on the summit where the ELT who had expressed a strong personal well. Correspondents of numerous will rise. interest in using this opportunity to pay national and international media covered her first visit to an ESO site. The support the ceremony, which was featured Upon the arrival of President Bachelet of the Chilean government to ESO’s around the world. and other senior dignitaries, an informal activities was made very visible by the welcome reception took place at the attendance of the Ministers of Economy, The ceremony had been planned to take Residencia which gave ample opportunity Mining and Energy, and of many other place at the top of Cerro Armazones, for interaction among the participants Chilean authorities. The ambassadors of where the ELT will be located and where and with the President (Figures 1–3). This 12 of the 15 ESO Member States were a large tent was being erected one week included, as planned, the leadership present, as well as the Council President, ahead of the event. However, in the days of the Paranal Union, who presented the Patrick Roche, members of the ESO before the event exceptional conditions, President with a small vase containing soil governing bodies from the Netherlands, with windspeeds much higher than usual, from the five ESO sites in Chile (Vitacura, France, Spain and Italy, and higher offi- prevented the completion of the prepara- La Silla, APEX, Paranal and Armazones). 2 The Messenger 168 – June 2017 ePOD/J. P. AstorgaePOD/J. P. AstorgaePOD/J. P. Figure 2. President Bachelet is shown posing for Figure 3. Paranal Union leaders pose with President selfies with children from Taltal during the First Stone Bachelet after presenting her with a vase containing event in the Paranal Residencia. soil samples from the five ESO sites in Chile. The formal ceremony started at 13:30 which a vision of a large telescope the country. As President Bachelet noted with the arrival of President Bachelet and advanced a century and a half ago by in her speech, “With the symbolic start the ESO Director General in the lower Jules Verne was compared with the real- of this construction work, we are building area of the Residencia, where the attend- ity of the construction of the ELT. His more than a telescope here: it is one ees were already waiting. A sequence speech was followed by one from Paolo of the greatest expressions of scientific of introductory videos was shown about Astaldi, President of the leading partner and technological capabilities and of the the ELT (Figure 4) and the companies in the ACe Consortium that is building the extraordinary potential of international Astaldi, Cimolai, REOSC and Schott, dome and the main telescope structure. cooperation”. which have so far signed large ELT con- Next was a speech by the internationally tracts. Also included was a video pre- renowned astronomer María Teresa Ruiz, The highlight of the ceremony came with pared by SAESA, the company that has currently President of the Chilean Acad- the filling and sealing of a time capsule built the extension of the grid to Paranal emy of Sciences. The closing speech which had been manufactured in the and Armazones. was given by President Michelle Bachelet, Paranal workshop by Patricio Alarcón who stressed the importance of astron- and his team. The Director General started A welcome speech (presented on p. 5) omy for the development of Chile and the by depositing a copy of the ELT Science was given by the Director General, in great significance that the event had for Case as foreseen in 2011. President Figure 4. (Left) Roberto Tamai, Project Manager of the ELT; Paolo Astaldi, President of the Astaldi construction group; Tim Comerón ESO/F. ePOD/J. P. AstorgaePOD/J. P. de Zeeuw, ESO Director General; Michelle Bachelet, President of the Republic of Chile; and María Teresa Ruiz, President of the Chilean Academy of Sciences, watch the opening video at the ELT First Stone ceremony. Figure 5. (Right) The glass plate donated by President Michelle Bachelet to be included in the time capsule. The legend in Spanish reads: “Opening the sky of Chile to the questions of a whole planet”. The Messenger 168 – June 2017 3 The Organisation de Zeeuw T. et al., The First Stone Ceremony for the Extremely Large Telescope Figure 7. The ESO ELT Team braving the wind on Cerro Armazones on the day after the official ESO/M. Cayrel ESO/T. de Zeeuw ceremony. Figure 6. The time capsule that was filled during describing what the observatory means Paranal, until the time when progress on the ELT First Stone ceremony, manufactured at the for them. The Press Release1 contains the construction of the dome allows it Paranal mechanical workshop. The cover includes a 1:5 scale reproduction of a segment of the ELT more details of the event, with photo- to be encased in one of the walls, where primary mirror, made in Zerodur®. graphs and videos. its cover will be left visible. Finally the President deposited a pen Following the ceremony many of the Bachelet followed by depositing a copy made of Chilean copper and the last item guests paid a visit to the VLT telescopes, of the lavishly illustrated book, “Atacama”, to be added to the time capsule was an which the President was unfortunately coauthored by ESO staff member Gerd elegant plate of glass, with the sentence unable to join because of another com- Hüdepohl. Next, the Director General “Opening the sky of Chile to the ques- mitment. In parallel, the extension of the unrolled two posters with the pictures tions of a whole planet” written in Spanish, Chilean electrical grid, constructed by and names of staff working at ESO at the from President Bachelet (Figure 5). The SAESA with the support of the Chilean time, which were held up by the Director time capsule was then closed with a Government, was celebrated and the General and the President to be shown cover that contains a 1:5 scale reproduc- Armazones power station, that converts to the audience, then rolled up again and tion of a segment of the ELT primary mir- the voltage from 66kV to 23kV, was inau- left inside the capsule.