Stars streak over La Silla

Stars streak across the sky over ESO’s La Silla Observatory in this spectacular photograph from ESO Photo Ambassador Farid Char. The stars appear as trails because of the apparent daily motion of the sky, which is, in fact, due to the rotation of the Earth on its own axis.

In the foreground, the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope can be seen. It is joined by the 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT) and ESO 3.6-metre telescope. The silhouette of the Swedish–ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) can be seen in the distance, to the far right of the image.