The Paranal Residencia at night

Night view of the Paranal Observatory, obtained on 21 March 2009. The Residencia — the place where staff can eat and sleep — is visible in the foreground, while one can distinguish the 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope in the higher background. Yepun, the Unit Telescope no. 4, is seen using the laser guide star to assist the adaptive optics instruments on the VLT. This allows astronomers to obtain images free from the blurring effect of the atmosphere, regardless of the brightness and location on the sky of the observed target. The image shows the great value of the dark night sky above Paranal. The band of the Milky Way is running through the image vertically. Orion and the Orion Nebula can be seen in the upper left corner along with a number of other interesting deep-sky objects in Auriga, the Charioteer. Tremendous efforts are being put into preventing light pollution from the Residencia and surrounding cities. Only long exposures with sensitive digital cameras are able to reveal the dim lights from the residencia rooms.