AT the Milky Way

The Milky Way is visible as a bright band across the sky above ESO’s Paranal Observatory, the home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The VLT is the world’s most advanced optical instrument, and can see objects that are four billion times fainter than what can be seen with the unaided eye, meaning it is well placed to make the most of Paranal’s remarkably clear skies. Visible in the background are three of the VLT's Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs), which allow the VLT to be transformed into the VLT Interferometer (VLTI), to study the Universe in even greater detail.