The IACTEC headquarters has recently hosted the meeting between the engineering team behind the future European Solar Telescope and an international panel composed of some of the world's leading experts in the development of large telescopes and solar observation instrumentation. It is common for major scientific projects to undergo this type of scrutiny during their development as a way to
independently verify their quality and viability.

The evaluation process began over a month ago with the submission of all the design documentation to the reviewers. In this case, the evaluation focused on the telescope’s optical design (including single-conjugate adaptive optics). After a thorough analysis by the independent experts, the process culminated in an in-person meeting on October 10 and 11 at IACTEC, where engineers and reviewers engaged in a vigorous debate.
 

The final report presented by the expert committee praises the work done by the project and endorses the proposed design. In its presentation, the committee deemed the evaluation successful, highlighting the team's competence and their excellent work. The design is considered solid, and the adaptive optics sufficiently mature. As is customary, the experts also pointed out areas where uncertainties remain and more work is needed to address open questions. These include thermal analysis and the need for more detailed studies on mechanical structure vibrations.

The success of the review marks a crucial step towards bringing the EST closer to its final goal of becoming Europe’s most advanced solar telescope, capable of revealing unprecedented details of the Sun.