1 00:00:08,754 --> 00:00:12,190 The Sun sets behind Cerro Paranal in the Chilean Atacama desert. 2 00:00:12,513 --> 00:00:17,786 While astronomers get ready to observe with ESO’s Very Large Telescope 3 00:00:18,088 --> 00:00:20,968 Nature prepares for her own grand display. 4 00:00:22,523 --> 00:00:23,968 As night falls over the desert, 5 00:00:24,525 --> 00:00:26,927 the southern sky reveals its nocturnal beauty, 6 00:00:27,394 --> 00:00:30,130 leaving the spectator in silent amazement. 7 00:00:31,417 --> 00:00:34,691 Some people, however, don’t just stare at the spectacle. 8 00:00:35,109 --> 00:00:39,139 With great skill, they record these unique moments for everyone to see. 9 00:00:39,606 --> 00:00:42,330 They are the photographers of the night. 10 00:00:47,948 --> 00:00:52,119 This is the ESOcast! Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes 11 00:00:52,419 --> 00:00:55,078 of ESO, the European Southern Observatory. 12 00:00:55,289 --> 00:01:00,929 Exploring the ultimate frontier with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske. 13 00:01:10,137 --> 00:01:14,107 Anyone who has been up at night in a remote, high place 14 00:01:14,165 --> 00:01:16,788 such as at one of ESO´s observatories in Chile 15 00:01:16,858 --> 00:01:20,948 may have been lucky enough to experience the splendid view of the myriad of stars 16 00:01:21,148 --> 00:01:23,483 shining brightly from the heavens. 17 00:01:23,483 --> 00:01:28,631 It is a both a dream and a challenge for a photographer 18 00:01:28,631 --> 00:01:31,858 to capture an image of this incredible view. 19 00:01:34,296 --> 00:01:37,477 Today we will focus on three ESO staff members 20 00:01:37,731 --> 00:01:42,236 who, during their free time, produce outstanding astrophotography. 21 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,112 By publishing their results on the Internet 22 00:01:48,437 --> 00:01:50,643 they share their enthusiasm for the astonishing wonders 23 00:01:50,711 --> 00:01:53,174 of the southern skies with a wider audience. 24 00:01:56,286 --> 00:02:00,163 Yuri Beletsky is an ESO Fellow and astronomer at the Paranal Observatory. 25 00:02:01,626 --> 00:02:05,359 When not observing with the world’s most advanced telescope, the VLT, 26 00:02:05,411 --> 00:02:09,562 he actively lives out his passion for taking pictures of the southern sky. 27 00:02:12,332 --> 00:02:16,510 “I like the night sky, I like stars and the night sky is so beautiful, 28 00:02:16,770 --> 00:02:20,597 you can see millions of stars and astrophotography is the best way 29 00:02:21,175 --> 00:02:24,544 to show the people what actually stars are, 30 00:02:24,578 --> 00:02:27,014 so taking this picture I share my passion with people 31 00:02:27,114 --> 00:02:29,149 and I am showing the sky then.” 32 00:02:37,891 --> 00:02:41,402 Over time, Yuri has produced many spectacular images of Paranal 33 00:02:41,402 --> 00:02:44,164 against the wonderful backdrop of the night sky. 34 00:02:55,543 --> 00:03:00,080 A laser beam shooting out of one of the VLT´s Unit Telescopes. 35 00:03:18,832 --> 00:03:21,735 The bright constellation of the Southern Cross. 36 00:03:26,518 --> 00:03:29,978 The Pipe Nebula with its picturesque dust lane crossing the Milky Way. 37 00:03:36,517 --> 00:03:39,653 Sunlight reflected by small particles of dust 38 00:03:40,153 --> 00:03:43,357 lying in between the planets causes the faint zodiacal light. 39 00:03:49,930 --> 00:03:52,533 “My plans, I would like to take more images, 40 00:03:52,533 --> 00:03:54,835 I like to share my passion with other people, 41 00:03:55,002 --> 00:03:58,172 I would like to show them the real beauty of the night sky 42 00:03:58,631 --> 00:04:02,609 and to show them the real beauty of the nature of Chile and the Earth.” 43 00:04:15,071 --> 00:04:19,059 Paranal is an ideal site for astrophotographers as it offers 44 00:04:19,726 --> 00:04:23,059 crystal-clear, extremely dark skies with perfect weather conditions 45 00:04:23,361 --> 00:04:25,660 on about 320 nights per year. 46 00:04:29,670 --> 00:04:33,607 Gerhard Hüdepohl, an electronic engineer at Paranal, knows about 47 00:04:33,607 --> 00:04:36,310 the photographic benefits of the VLT´s site. 48 00:04:40,683 --> 00:04:44,084 Gerhard, who is also a renowned photographer of Chile’s landscape, 49 00:04:44,816 --> 00:04:50,090 combines the beauty of the Atacama desert with the shining Milky Way in a unique way. 50 00:04:56,403 --> 00:04:58,678 “My favourite type of photography is landscape 51 00:04:59,305 --> 00:05:04,338 and in particular landscape at night, showing the Milky Way in the night sky 52 00:05:04,715 --> 00:05:05,993 here of the Atacama desert. 53 00:05:11,245 --> 00:05:16,163 And here at Paranal I have the possibility to have the telescopes as a nice foreground 54 00:05:16,186 --> 00:05:18,787 and the stars and the night sky as a background.” 55 00:05:24,858 --> 00:05:28,428 The bright plane of our Milky Way as it arches above the VLT. 56 00:05:29,143 --> 00:05:33,021 An image like this can only be obtained under top-notch stargazing conditions, 57 00:05:33,021 --> 00:05:35,202 such as those offered at Paranal. 58 00:05:41,078 --> 00:05:45,118 Like Yuri, Gerhard has also produced a spectacular series of images 59 00:05:45,583 --> 00:05:48,555 showing the VLT with its laser beam and the night sky. 60 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:58,058 “I am always trying to show Paranal from new, fresh points of view, 61 00:05:58,392 --> 00:06:03,797 different angles, different times of the day, so I am always thinking 62 00:06:04,097 --> 00:06:07,668 about new ideas. So that is my plan for the future.” 63 00:06:17,139 --> 00:06:19,079 Astrophotography is very demanding. 64 00:06:19,313 --> 00:06:23,217 The photographer has to stay out in the dark and in the chill of the night for many hours. 65 00:06:23,717 --> 00:06:29,097 Sometimes it can take several nights of painstaking work in these tough conditions 66 00:06:29,608 --> 00:06:33,560 to obtain just one image, and the equipment must always function flawlessly. 67 00:06:39,366 --> 00:06:42,336 Stéphane Guisard is the head of the optical group at Paranal. 68 00:06:42,773 --> 00:06:46,607 His astrophotography benefits from his professional expertise 69 00:06:47,007 --> 00:06:49,693 as an optical engineer specialising in telescopes. 70 00:06:52,813 --> 00:06:55,482 Stéphane’s images have been used in several projects for 71 00:06:55,716 --> 00:06:59,585 the International Year of Astronomy, as well as in previous ESOcasts. 72 00:07:05,959 --> 00:07:09,453 “I take pictures of galaxies and nebulae with a telescope, 73 00:07:10,660 --> 00:07:17,070 but I also like to take wide-field images of the sky with a terrestrial foreground. 74 00:07:22,042 --> 00:07:27,514 I like to share with people the beauty of the sky and the Universe.” 75 00:07:30,751 --> 00:07:34,229 This photographic mosaic of the central parts of our galactic home 76 00:07:34,555 --> 00:07:36,690 is just one example of Stéphane's work. 77 00:07:43,130 --> 00:07:47,668 Taken with an amateur telescope coupled to a CCD camera, the image combines 78 00:07:47,668 --> 00:07:53,525 about 1200 photos for a total exposure time of around 250 hours. 79 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:11,091 Stéphane has also produced a spectacular series of timelapse sequences 80 00:08:11,427 --> 00:08:12,593 at the Paranal site. 81 00:08:13,470 --> 00:08:17,209 Producing such sequences is quite a challenge as the images must be taken 82 00:08:17,209 --> 00:08:21,412 at regular intervals, and all the parameters must match perfectly to obtain 83 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:23,780 the sensation of the moving firmament. 84 00:08:30,189 --> 00:08:34,554 “I want to continue imaging galaxies and objects that I have not done yet 85 00:08:35,282 --> 00:08:42,124 and also I am trying to widen my field by doing 3-D pictures, a 3-D night timelapse 86 00:08:42,426 --> 00:08:46,861 movie and also big mosaic images of the sky.” 87 00:08:56,336 --> 00:09:00,468 There is no doubt that Yuri, Gerhard and Stéphane will continue to produce 88 00:09:00,770 --> 00:09:03,556 stunning images of the starry skies above Paranal. 89 00:09:04,678 --> 00:09:07,921 The wonderful quality of the images is a testament to the splendour 90 00:09:08,248 --> 00:09:11,288 of the night sky at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. 91 00:09:11,706 --> 00:09:14,121 By sharing their work, these three astrophotographers 92 00:09:14,122 --> 00:09:18,192 have brought their magnificent view of the southern sky to a wider audience. 93 00:09:20,251 --> 00:09:23,270 This is Dr J signing off for the ESOcast. 94 00:09:23,572 --> 00:09:26,776 Join me again next time for another cosmic adventure. 95 00:09:29,269 --> 00:09:32,999 ESOcast is produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory. www.eso.org 96 00:09:32,999 --> 00:09:35,479 ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy 97 00:09:35,479 --> 00:09:38,339 designing, constructing and operating the world’s most advanced ground-based telescopes. 98 00:09:39,446 --> 00:09:43,050 Transcription by ESO ; translation by — 99 00:09:43,843 --> 00:09:47,372 Now that you've caught up with ESO, 100 00:09:48,922 --> 00:09:52,860 head 'out of this world' with Hubble. 101 00:09:53,860 --> 00:10:01,931 The Hubblecast highlights the latest discoveries of the world's most recognized and prized space observatory, 102 00:10:03,670 --> 00:10:07,829 the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope