Fastest spinning star found 160,000 light years from Earth.
VFTS 102, shown in the center, rotates more than 300 times faster than the Sun, astronomers found using the Very Large Telescope from the European Southern Observatory. ESO

The world's biggest telescope is all set to be installed atop the 3,000 metre high Cerro Armazones in Chile after blasting off a significant portion of the mountain's surface.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) project is the brainchild of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), a Britain-based organisation.

According to a Guardian report, the blasting off of the mountain will take place at 2pm local time (7pm BST) on 19 June. This will be followed by month-long operations to clear the rubble after which work for installing the telescope will begin.

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A massive, 2,500 tons of steel is expected to be used in building the E-ELT's most important mirror.

The E-ELT will aid stargazers and scientists in a big way. "I feel excited. We are opening a highway for the future knowledge of astronomy," Roberto Tamia is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

The E-ELT, to be operational in a decade, is expected to enable detailed observation of natural phenomena such as eclipses.

The entire construction and operation of the E-ELT will be overseen by the United Kingdom (a member of ESO) which is said to have contributed £88m to the project. The UK is also one among 15 countries involved in the project.

In 2009, the Cerro Paranal mountain located in Chile's Atacama desert, was reshaped to install the Paranal Observatory which is another astronomical unit handled by the ESO. A Very Large Telescope comprising four 8.2m telescopes was set up in the observatory.