The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) is one of two ESO survey telescopes surveying the southern skies, the other being the Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope (VST).

VISTA has a main mirror that is 4.1 metres across and is by far the largest telescope in the world dedicated to surveying the sky at near-infrared wavelengths. It was conceived and developed by the United Kingdom and became an in-kind contribution to ESO as part of the UK's accession agreement, with the subscription paid by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The main mirror is the most highly curved mirror of its size ever made and at the heart of VISTA is a 3-tonne camera containing 16 special detectors sensitive to infrared light with a combined total of 67 megapixels.