Twilight at Paranal

Unusual view of the Very Large Telescope (VLT), taken at twilight from the north slope of Paranal Mountain, immediately below the VLT´s platform, where two of the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes (UTs) are visible. On the top right of the closer UT, the Southern Cross is clearly visible. This constellation is the main reference to get one´s bearings in the southern hemisphere. The south celestial pole can be found by projecting the main axis of the cross three times and a half its length in the direction of its base. In the picture, the south pole lies exactly above the left edge of the telescope. Paranal observatory is located in the district of Taltal, some 120 km south from Antofagasta, in the II Region of Chile.