360° panorama of the VLT platform

Extraordinary 360° panorama view of the VLT platform, taken at sunset. The planet Venus is clearly visible as a bright dot on the right side of the image. The ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) is composed of four 8.2-metre Unite Telescopes (UTs), plus four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs). While each UT hosts two or three different highly specialised instruments and can either work individually, or in a combined mode using interferometry, the ATs are entirely dedicated to interferometric observations.  Interferometry allows the astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than with the individual telescopes. The configuration of the ATs can be changed across the platform by moving them on rails between 30 different observing positions. The VLT is located at 2600 metres altitude, on Cerro Paranal, in the II Region of Chile. This remote area of the Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth and an excellent site for ground-based astronomy. This photograph was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Serge Brunier. An amazing 360° interactive virtual tour is also available. Links: ESO Photo Ambassadors webpage. Virtual tours.