It's lonely at the top

ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) sits atop Cerro Paranal, a 2600-metre high mountain in Chile that enjoys about 300 clear nights per year. One of the world's most advanced optical telescope, the VLT is able advantage of these excellent viewing conditions to study the Universe in great detail, and leads to the publication of an average of more than one peer-reviewed scientific paper per day.