A cosmic rainbow over the VLT

This eye-catching Picture of the Week was captured from ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Home to ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the observatory sits proudly atop the 2635-metre-high Cerro Paranal in Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. 

The four Unit Telescopes of the VLT, seen just right of centre in this panorama, are posing in front of the huge expanse of the Milky Way galaxy, which appears almost like a rainbow made of stars, arching over the site. 

In the image, the four smaller Auxiliary Telescopes are also visible. Astronomers use different configurations of these telescopes that can be moved around on the tracks situated on the telescope platform. Can you spot the four Auxiliary Telescopes in this image?

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About the Image

Id:potw2128a
Type:Photographic
Release date:12 July 2021, 06:00
Related announcements:ann24003
Size:19716 x 6089 px

About the Object

Name:Milky Way, Very Large Telescope
Type:Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Milky Way
Unspecified : Technology : Observatory
Category:Paranal

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