Night comes to Paranal

Imagine that you have just watched a beautiful sunset from the top of Cerro Paranal. As the Atacama Desert silently fades into the night, ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) opens its powerful eyes on the Universe. With this spectacular 360-degree panorama, you can imagine the view that you would have if you were standing there, near the southern edge of the VLT’s platform.

In the foreground, the fourth of the VLT’s Auxiliary Telescopes (AT4) is opening. To its left, the Sun has already set over the Pacific Ocean — covered by clouds below the altitude of Paranal, as usual. Across the rest of the platform, the other three Auxiliary Telescopes are seen in front of the large buildings of the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes. Finally, the Residencia and other basecamp facilities are also visible a little distance away, near the right-hand edge of the picture.

As the night begins, imagine that you are immersed in a deep silence, barely interrupted by the wind or by the smooth movement of these giant machines. It is hard to believe that intense activity is going on in the VLT Control Building, located on the slope of the mountain just below the level of the platform, in the direction of the setting Sun. There, astronomers and telescope operators are starting the first observations of the night.

Links

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:potw1235a
Type:Photographic
Release date:27 August 2012, 10:40
Size:50216 x 5993 px
Field of View:360° x 43°

About the Object

Name:Panorama, Paranal, Very Large Telescope
Type:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory
Solar System : Sky Phenomenon : Light Phenomenon : Sunrise-Sunset
Category:360 Panorama
Paranal

Image Formats

Large JPEG
45.2 MB
Publication JPEG
241.1 KB
Screensize JPEG
32.3 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
115.5 KB
1280x1024
162.7 KB
1600x1200
212.4 KB
1920x1200
256.6 KB
2048x1536
295.1 KB