VISTA: the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy

VISTA, the world’s largest survey telescope, is shown in its dome at ESO’s observatory on Cerro Paranal in the deserts of northern Chile. VISTA is an infrared survey telescope and is the world’s largest telescope dedicated to mapping the sky. The telescope’s large mirror, wide field of view and very sensitive camera will reveal a completely new view of the southern sky. VISTA was conceived and developed by a consortium of 18 universities in the United Kingdom led by Queen Mary, University of London and became an in-kind contribution to ESO as part of the UK’s accession agreement.