The Extremely Large Telescope Reaches First Light · Chronopin

The Extremely Large Telescope Reaches First Light · Chronopin

Astronomy09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Extremely Large Telescope First Light
Cerro Armazones, ChileEuropean Southern Observatory
Starts 03/01/2029ESTIMATED 56% CONFIDENCEin 2.4 yearsGiven as a target, not a fixed date, per en.wikipedia.org^[1]: "…and construction in July 2023, with the expected completion and first light set for March 2029.[13][…"
A 39-metre segmented mirror in Chile's Atacama, collecting more light than all existing 8-10 metre telescopes combined. Estimated date.
€1.1B
0.84
Astronomy09/14/2026@BuildDesk
Extremely Large Telescope Targets 2029 First Light
Cerro Armazones, Antofagasta Region, ChileEuropean Southern Observatory
Starts 03/31/2029DELAYED4.5 years late56% CONFIDENCEin 2.5 yearsDate has moved, per the source^[1]: "telescope first light" is "now planned for March 2029," after "several of the telescope contracts suffered delays."
The European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope, being built atop a Chilean mountain by 16 partner nations, is now targeting first light in March 2029 after repeated delays.
€1B
0.79
Astronomy09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Square Kilometre Array Observations Begin
Carnarvon, South AfricaSKA Observatory
Starts 06/01/2030ESTIMATED 62% CONFIDENCEin 3.7 yearsGiven as a target, not a fixed date, per the pin description: "…as the world's largest radio telescope. Estimated date.…"
Thousands of dishes and antennas across South Africa and Australia acting as the world's largest radio telescope. Estimated date.
A$3B
0.70
Architecture09/14/2026@BuildDesk
Sphinx Observatory Opens Atop the Jungfraujoch
Jungfraujoch, Bernese Alps, Switzerland
Starts 12/31/1937CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE88.7 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "The Sphinx observatory ... was completed in 1937."
The Sphinx Observatory, a research station tunnelled into a 3,571-metre Alpine summit above the Jungfraujoch, was completed in 1937 as one of Europe's most remote scientific buildings.
0.66
Science09/22/2026@ScienceDesk
LIGO Announces the First Detection of Gravitational Waves
National Press Club, 529, 14th Street Northwest, Downtown, Ward 2, Washington, District of Columbia, 20005, United StatesLIGO
Starts 02/11/2016CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE10.6 years agoWikipedia^[2] dates both the observation and the announcement: "The first direct observation of gravitational waves was made on 14 September 2015 and was announced by the LIGO^[3] and Virgo collaborations on 11 February 2016." LIGO's own news release of that day carries the announcement, made at 10:30 a.m. Eastern at the National Press Club, where this pin is placed.
At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations announce GW150914, a signal from the merger of two black holes recorded by both LIGO detectors on 14 September 2015 - the first direct observation of gravitational waves.
0.65
Science09/22/2026@ScienceDesk
LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA Begin the IR1 Observing Run
NSF LIGO - Hanford, 127124, North Route 10, Richland, Benton County, Washington, 99354, United StatesLIGO
Starts 11/15/2026ESTIMATED 68% CONFIDENCEin 53 daysThe collaborations' own observing plan, last updated 3 September 2026, gives only a window - a six-month run "beginning early- to mid-November of 2026" - and says the next update is due 15 October 2026 or sooner. With no day named, the pin takes the close of the stated window rather than its start, so it is not early; it moves when the collaborations name the day.^[1]
The gravitational-wave detectors start a six-month intermediate observing run before the fifth observing run. Both LIGO detectors take part, Virgo joins despite possible maintenance interruptions, and KAGRA joins as it becomes available.
0.65
Astronomy09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Asteroid Apophis Passes Inside Satellite Orbit
Starts 04/13/2029 UNVERIFIED 59% CONFIDENCEin 2.6 years
A 340-metre asteroid passes about 32,000 km from Earth, closer than geostationary satellites and visible to the naked eye from Europe and Africa.
0.65
Astronomy09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Total Solar Eclipse Over Luxor
Luxor, Egypt
Starts 08/02/2027UNVERIFIED 68% CONFIDENCEin 313 days
At 6 minutes 23 seconds over Egypt, the longest totality visible from land until 2114, crossing Spain, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
0.64
Science09/22/2026@ScienceDesk
Euclid Releases the Foundation of Its First Data Release
European Space Astronomy Centre, Camino Bajo del Castillo, Sexmo de Casarrubios, El Castillo, Comunidad de Ciudad y Tierra de Segovia, Villanueva de la Cañada, Community of Madrid, 28692, SpainEuropean Space Agency
Starts 11/30/2026ESTIMATED 72% CONFIDENCEin 68 daysESA's^[1][2] DR1 timeline page, updated 15 June 2026, gives DR1-Foundation as "November 2026" and the complete DR1 as mid-2027, and says exact release dates will be provided later. A month with no day is estimated at that month's last day, which puts this pin on 30 November 2026; it moves when ESA names the day.
The first stage of Euclid Data Release 1 puts out all raw data and calibrated images, catalogues and spectra over about 1,900 square degrees of sky. The higher-level products for galaxy clustering and weak lensing follow in mid-2027.
0.64
Astronomy09/20/2026@ScienceDesk
Annular Solar Eclipse Crosses New Zealand
Point of greatest eclipse at sea, off New Zealand
Starts 03/09/2035 11:04PMSCHEDULED 83% CONFIDENCEin 8.5 yearsNASA's^[1][2][3][4] eclipse catalogue gives the instant of greatest eclipse as 23:04:32 UT on 2035-03-09 (23:05:53 TD, the two separated by delta-T), from Saros series 140. Eclipse circumstances are computed from orbital mechanics, so the date and time are exact centuries ahead.
Greatest eclipse falls at 23:04:32 UT on 2035-03-09, where the annular phase lasts 48 seconds on a path 31.5 km wide; annularity is longest at the sunrise end of the track, where it runs 1 minute 26 seconds. The path of annularity crosses New Zealand and the Pacific, and a partial eclipse is visible from Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, Mexico and Antarctica.
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Science09/22/2026@ScienceDesk
The 1919 Eclipse Results Confirm General Relativity
Royal Astronomical Society, Piccadilly, St. James's, Westminster, Mayfair, City of Westminster, Greater London, England, W1J 0PA, United KingdomRoyal Astronomical Society
Starts 11/06/1919CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE106.9 years agoWikipedia's^[1][2][3] Eddington experiment article dates the session: "The presentation of the results at the joint 6 November 1919 session of Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society led to intensive press coverage first in Great Britain and a few days later in the US press". The eclipse itself was on 29 May 1919; this pin is the announcement, which is what made Einstein famous.
Arthur Eddington presents the results of the May 1919 eclipse expeditions to Principe and Sobral at a joint session of the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society at Burlington House. The measured deflection of starlight matches Einstein's prediction, and the meeting accepts it.
0.63
Science09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Hyper-Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory Cavern Completed
Kamioka, Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Starts 07/31/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE1.1 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "the University of Tokyo completed excavation of the colossal cavern that will house the main detector volume of Hyper-Kamiokande" on July 31, 2025.
Crews finished excavating the huge cavern in a Japanese mountain that will house the Hyper-Kamiokande neutrino observatory, a step toward the detector's planned start of observations.
$600M
0.63