ESO Upgrading Very Large Telescope To Look For Exoplanets

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile will receive an upgrade that'll enable it to easily spot exoplanets in Alpha Centauri. VLT is operated by the European Southern Observatory, which has signed an agreement with Breakthrough Initiatives, an organization focused on searching for extraterrestrial life.

Breakthrough Initiatives was formed in 2015 by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner with support from Stephen Hawking and others. It'll consider any potentially habitable planet detected by VLT as a potential destination for exploration.

VLT is specifically receiving an upgrade to a piece of infrared technology called VISIR.