1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:15,000 In the Spring of 2014, a team of ESO Photo ambassadors embarked on a pioneering expedition to ESO’s three observatories in Chile. 2 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Their mission was to capture a wide range of images and timelapses 3 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 of the magnificent Chilean night sky and landscape 4 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,000 in crisp Ultra High Definition. 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Join our heroes in their adventures in the arid Atacama Desert 6 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:39,000 as they bring our Universe closer than ever before. 7 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,000 This is the ESOcast! 8 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, 9 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,000 the European Southern Observatory. 10 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Chile hosts some of the world’s finest sites for astronomy. 11 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:14,000 They offer crystal-clear views and some of the darkest night skies on Earth. 12 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 This is where ESO sites its world-class telescopes. 13 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,000 To share this unspoiled view of the sky with the public, 14 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:28,000 ESO arranged an Ultra High Definition Expedition 15 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,000 to each of ESO’s observatories in Chile. 16 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:38,000 The team was equipped with state-of-the-art tools from the world’s leaders in this area of technology. 17 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 The three astrophotographers, 18 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,000 Yuri Beletsky, 19 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,000 Christoph Malin 20 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,500 and Babak Tafreshi, 21 00:01:47,500 --> 00:01:50,000 were accompanied by ESO’s video specialist, 22 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000 Herbert Zodet. 23 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:03,000 The team began their work at the Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope. 24 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:15,000 The time soon came for the team to leave Paranal and begin a six-hour drive through the barren Chilean desert. 25 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Their next stop was ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. 26 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 Here, high on the Chajnantor Plateau at some 5000 metres above sea level, 27 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Babak, Christoph and Yuri were in for the ultimate low-oxygen experience. 28 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Human operations here are limited due to the extremely high altitude 29 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:55,000 but they worked hard to deliver as many stunning shots as they could in the cold dry thin air. 30 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:46,000 After long nights of imaging at ALMA in the tough conditions of the Chajnantor Plateau, 31 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:52,000 our team took a deep breath and headed south towards their final destination: 32 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 La Silla – ESO’s first observatory. 33 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,000 On the outskirts of the Chilean Atacama Desert, 34 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,000 it is here that ESO operates several telescopes 35 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:12,000 and many ESO Member States also run projects at their own facilities. 36 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,000 The team made a tour of the large site to scout for the best places for imaging during the nights ahead. 37 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:35,000 Once again they captured some visually-stunning content. 38 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:47,000 ESO’s Ultra High Definition Expedition has resulted in wide range of content 39 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:57,000 including timelapses, stills and panoramas of the night sky in superb ultra HD quality 40 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,000 — ten terabytes and more than 100,000 thousand photos in total. 41 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:16,000 And for Babak, Christoph and Yuri this trip certainly was the perfect occasion to test their skills 42 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,000 at the best possible sites for astrophotography. 43 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,000 The Chilean skies did not disappoint them. 44 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,000 With very little public ultra HD content widely available up to now, 45 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:36,000 ESO is offering all of these high-quality visuals — 46 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,000 for audiences from consumers to broadcasters — 47 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,000 for free. 48 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,000 You can now download the first results from ESO’s website. 49 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:55,000 Stay tuned for much more as the very best images will be released as ESO Pictures of the Week over the coming months. 50 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Ultra HD adds a new level to our stunning footage of the cosmos — 51 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,000 a whole new, immersive dimension. 52 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 Transcription by ESO; translation by –