View to the top of Cerro Paranal
By Year: 2016 | Chile | ESO Photo Ambassador | Milky Way & Infrared | Professional Observatories in the World | Stars and Constellations | VISTA Telescope
Panoramic view from VISTA telescope to the top of Cerro Paranal, where it is located the VLT. In the right side we can see the Milky Way behind a dark band of clouds. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope operated by the ESO – European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT is the world’s most advanced optical instrument, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with main mirrors of 8.2m diameter, which are generally used separately but can be used together to achieve very high angular resolution. The four separate optical telescopes are known as Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun, which are all words for astronomical objects in the Mapuche language, with optical elements that can combine them into an astronomical interferometer (VLTI), which is used to resolve small objects. The interferometer is complemented by four movable Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) of 1.8 m aperture.
Image taken taken in 17/10/2015 from Cerro Paranal, Atacama desert, Chile.
