copyright ESO
Image caption
The E-ELT's primary mirror will be just short of 40m across
UK researchers have signed the contract that will lead to the development of one of the first instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope.
The E-ELT will be the biggest optical and infrared observatory ever constructed, with a primary mirror just short of 40m across.
A British-led consortium will make a £50m spectrograph called Harmoni.
This will tease apart the colours of distant galaxies to determine the properties of those objects.
Its data will help astronomers understand their composition, the physics at work, and their dynamics - how the galaxies move through space.
