Paranal Observatory (December 2000)

eso0105a  shows some of the construction activities at the Paranal Observatory in December 2000, beginning with a general view of the site. Then follow views of the Residencia, a building that has been designed by Architects Auer and Weber in Munich - it integrates very well into the desert, creating a welcome recreational site for staff and visitors in this harsh environment.

The next scenes focus on the "stations" for the auxiliary telescopes for the VLTI and the installation of two delay lines in the 140-m long underground tunnel.

The following part of the video clip shows the start-up of the excavation work for the 2.6-m VLT Survey Telescope (VST) as well as the location known as the "NTT Peak", now under consideration for the installation of the 4-m VISTA telescope.

The last images are from to the second 8.2-m Unit Telescope, KUEYEN, that has been in full use by the astronomers with the UVES and FORS2 instruments since April 2000.