Paranal Observatory in Chile | Via

Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the mountains of Cerro Paranal in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, at an altitude of 2,635 meters, about 120 kilometers south of Antofagasta and 80 km north of Taltal. Far from city lights, high above sea level, with more than 350 cloudless days a year, Atacama desert is an ideal location for ground-based astronomy.

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Cerro Paranal is European Southern Observatory’s premier site for observations in the visible and infrared light, and at one time, was one of the most powerful optical array in the world. This groundbreaking observatory consist of four separate 8.2 m (320 in) telescopes and a large collection of instruments. Additionally, the four main telescopes can combine their light to operate as a single device.