Awakening for observations

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert prepares for a night of observations, as the dome of its enclosure opens to reveal the twilight skies.

As for the Unit Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope, the opening of VISTA's enclosure is controlled by an engineer from inside the facility. Observations with the telescope's 4.1-metre mirror, however, are controlled remotely from a separate building atop Cerro Paranal.