The Extremely Large Telescope, being built by the European Southern Observatory in Chile, will have a 39-metre main mirror, the largest ever for an optical telescope. The mirror is made of hundreds of hexagonal segments working as one. The telescope's central structure holds the main mirror cell, a tube linking it to the spider that supports the secondary mirror, and a tower for three more mirrors. Light is sent to instruments on platforms at the sides. Its exterior is nearly complete, while work continues inside the dome.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.