Sky above Paranal

Some of the docking stations for the Auxiliary Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer are clearly visible in the foreground. Alpha Centauri is the star almost at the centre of the image, the lowest of the two "Pointers" to the Southern Cross visible just above the "Coal Sack", in the middle of the image. The Milky Way is clearly visible in all its majesty, as well as on the right, the Magellanic Clouds. A "shooting star" was also captured in this image (top right) obtained on 11 December 2005 by Hännes Heyer (ESO). The photo is facing the East. (Canon EOS 5D, 40 and 20 sec exposures).