Video News Release 14: First Auxiliary Telescope for the VLT Interferometer Installed at Paranal

Another advanced astronomical telescope has just been installed at the Paranal Observatory, located in the heart of the Chilean Atacama Desert and home of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). The new telescope, known as Auxiliary Telescope no. 1 (AT1), forms part of the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). It has a main mirror of 1.8-m diameter and is installed in a compact dome. In contrast to the four giant 8.2-m telescopes and, indeed, to any other telescope in the world of this size, it can be moved along a system of railway tracks on the top of the Paranal mountain. It sends the captured light from celestial objects into the subterranean Interferometric Tunnel from where it is directed to the central Interferometric Laboratory.

This Video News Release is targeted especially at broadcasters for further editing. In order to keep the audio tracks editable, different sound information has been recorded on two separate tracks at optimal volumes as is common standard in professional post production. This video is not meant for on screen viewing — on ESOcasts are better suited for that.