Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Paranal (120 km south of Antofagasta) and operated by the European Southern Observatory. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is the largest telescope on Paranal, actually composed of four separate 8.2 m telescopes. In addition the four main telescopes can combine their light to make a fifth instrument, the VLTI, Very Large Telescope Interferometer. Four auxiliary telescopes of 1.8m each are being added to the VLTI to make it available when the main telescopes are being used for other projects. The first two of these were installed in early 2004 and 2005. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an international astronomical organisation, composed and supported by ten countries from the European Union plus Switzerland. ... Cerro Paranal, a 2,635 m high mountain in the Atacama desert in northern Chile, famous for hosting the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). ... Cerro Paranal, a 2,635 m high mountain in the Atacama desert in northern Chile, famous for hosting the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). ... Antofagasta is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and steep hills to the east Street in Antofagasta   () is a port city and episcopal see in northern Chile, about 700 miles north of Santiago. ... The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an international astronomical organisation, composed and supported by ten countries from the European Union plus Switzerland. ... One of the four telescopes that make up the VLT, named Kueyen. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The site also houses the 2.5m VLT Survey Telescope and 4m VISTA survey telescope with wider fields of view for surveying large areas of sky uniformly. The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) program is a cooperation, born in 1997, between the OAC (Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte [ http://www. ... VISTA is the Visible & Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, a 4m telescope in development which will be sited at Cerro Paranal in Chile. ...

Very Large Telescope

Main article: Very Large Telescope

View of some of the telescopes at Paranal.

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) consists of four 8.2 m telescopes operating in the visible and infrared. These telescopes, along with 4 smaller Auxiliary telescopes, are also combined to operate as an optical interferometer on certain nights of the year. All of the 8.2 m telescopes have adaptive optics and a full suite of instruments. One of the four telescopes that make up the VLT, named Kueyen. ... Download high resolution version (703x651, 64 KB) Aerial view of the Very Large Telescope Array (VLT) in the Paranal Mountain, Chile. ... Download high resolution version (703x651, 64 KB) Aerial view of the Very Large Telescope Array (VLT) in the Paranal Mountain, Chile. ... One of the four telescopes that make up the VLT, named Kueyen. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ... The optical spectrum (light or visible spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. ... Image of two girls in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false-color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of radio waves. ...

VISTA survey telescope

Main article: VISTA (telescope)

VISTA is the Visible & Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, a 4m telescope under construction at the observatory. It is hoped that it will be operational in 2006. It will have a wide field of view, and as the name suggests it will focus on optical and infrared surveys of the sky. VISTA is being built close to ESO's VLT by a consortium of 18 UK universities. VISTA is the Visible & Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, a 4m telescope in development which will be sited at Cerro Paranal in Chile. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The field of view is the part of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. ... The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an international astronomical organisation, composed and supported by ten countries from the European Union plus Switzerland. ... The four telescopes of the European Southern Observatory Paranal site. ...

VLT Survey Telescope (VST)

Main article: VLT Survey Telescope

The VLT Survey Telescope or VST is a proposed 2.5m telescope with a wide field imager intended to aid the VLT in its scientific aims. The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) program is a cooperation, born in 1997, between the OAC (Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte [ http://www. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ... The four telescopes of the European Southern Observatory Paranal site. ...

Other buildings

The Garden of the Residencia

As well as the telescopes, control buildings and maintenance facilities, Paranal has a Residencia which provides accommodation for staff and visitors. This is located 200 m lower and 5 km from the telescopes. It is built half into the mountain with the concrete coloured to blend into the landscape. It has gym facilities, a swimming pool, a restaurant and two gardens. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixels Full resolution (1600 × 1064 pixel, file size: 614 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Paranal Observatory -- Residencia File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Paranal Observatory... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixels Full resolution (1600 × 1064 pixel, file size: 614 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Paranal Observatory -- Residencia File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Paranal Observatory...

External links

• Paranal Observatory
• ESO
• VLT Project
• VLTI, Very Large Telescope Interferometer
• Paranal Observatory featured in the Astronomy Picture of the Day

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Paranal

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Coordinates: 24°37′38″S, 70°24′15″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...