VLT site test Cerro Armazones

The site for the very large telescope was carefully chosen on the basis of astroclimatology data. Astroclimatology is the study of weather conditions for astronomical observations. In addition to the usual cloud and wind, other parameters are also considered, such as seeing (the atmospheric turbulence) and the water vapour content. This shows one of the members of the astroclimatology group during site test at Cerro Amazones, the neighbouring mountain of Cerro Paranal in Chile, in 1989.