A Panoramic view to the top of Cerro Paranal
Panoramic view from VISTA telescope to the top of Cerro Paranal (at left) where it is located the VLT platform. In the right side we can see the Milky Way trying to show up behind a dark band of clouds, also covering the Moonset. 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.
View to the top of Cerro Paranal
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.
VISTA Telescope Startrail
A startrail in a cloudy sky as seen above the VISTA telescope in Paranal. VISTA ― the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy ― is part of ESO’s Paranal Observatory. VISTA works at near-infrared wavelengths and is the world’s largest survey telescope. Its large mirror, wide field of view and very sensitive detectors are revealing a completely new view of the southern sky. The telescope is housed on the peak adjacent to the one hosting the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) and shares the same exceptional observing conditions. VISTA has a main mirror that is 4.1 meters across. In photographic terms it can be thought of as a 67 megapixel digital camera with a 13 000 mm f/3.25 mirror lens. At the heart of the telescope is a huge three-tonne camera with 16 state-of-the-art infrared-sensitive detectors.
Imagem taken in 17/10/2015 from Cerro Paranal, Atacama desert, Chile.
