Behind the scenes of around the world in 80 telescopes

Behind the scenes of Around the World in 80 Telescopes, a live, 24-hour public webcast featuring most of the research-grade astronomical observatories both on and off the planet. During the webcast, astronomers at observatories around the world talked about their work and presented exclusive images and video. This photograph was taken at 4.00am on 4 April 2009, backstage at ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, from where the webcast was coordinated and hosted.