Under the Large Magellanic Cloud

One of the Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs), used for interferometry purposes in the VLT complex, is portrayed during a beautiful starry night in the Atacama Desert. In the background, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is clearly visible as a diffuse "cloud". The LCM is a nearby irregular galaxy and a satellite of the Milky Way, located about 160.000 light-years away. The bright "patch" at the bottom of the galaxy is the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070), an H II region.