Very Large Telescope

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href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/auxiliarytelescopes/"> Auxiliary Telescopes </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/"> Survey Telescopes <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-301" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/"> VISTA <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-302" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/mirror/"> The VISTA mirror </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/camera/"> VIRCAM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/4most/"> 4MOST </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/surveys/"> The VISTA surveys </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vista/consortium/"> The VISTA consortium </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/"> VST <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-308" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/mirror/"> The VST mirrors </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/camera/"> OmegaCAM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/surveys/"> The VST surveys 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</a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/"> New Technology Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-318" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/efosc2/"> EFOSC2 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/emmi/"> EMMI </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/irspec/"> IRSPEC </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/sofi/"> SOFI </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/soxs/"> SOXS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/susi2/"> SUSI and SUSI2 </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/"> ESO 3.6-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span 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href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/coude/"> Coudé Auxiliary Telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-372" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/coude/ces/"> CES </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/marly/"> MarLy 1-metre telescope </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/09metre/"> Dutch 0.9-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-375" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/09metre/walraven/"> Walraven Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/t70/"> Swiss T70 telescope </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/"> Bochum 0.61-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-378" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/bochum-scanner/"> Bochum Scanner </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/bochum/bochum-photometer/"> Bochum Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/"> Danish 0.5-metre telescope <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-381" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-two-channel-hb-photometer/"> Two-Channel Hβ Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-four-channel-uvby-photometer/"> Four-Channel uvby Photometer </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/danish05/danish-six-channel-uvby-hb-photometer/"> Six-Channel uvby–Hβ Photometer </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/gpo/"> Grand Prisme Objectif telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/swiss04/"> Swiss 0.4-metre telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/marseille/"> Marseille 0.36-metre telescope </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/grb/"> GRB Monitoring System </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mascara/"> MASCARA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/blackgem/"> BlackGEM </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/extra/"> ExTrA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/lasilla/test-bed/"> Test-Bed Telescope </a></li></ul></li><li 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P-ArTéMiS </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/pi230/"> PI230 </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/polka/"> PolKa </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/saboca/"> SABOCA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/sepia/"> SEPIA </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/apex/shefi/"> SHeFI </a></li></ul></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/"> ALMA <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa fa-angle-right"></span></a><span class="mobile-children"><span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span></span><ul id="submenu-aim-409" class="submenu-aim sublevel"><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/antennas/"> Antennas </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/transporters/"> Transporters </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/interferometry/"> Interferometry </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/receiver-bands/"> Receiver Bands </a></li><li 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href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/event-horizon/"> First image of a black hole </a></li><li class=""><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/EHT-MilkyWay/"> First image of the Milky Way central black hole </a></li><li class=""><a href="https://www.eso.org/public/science/gc/"> More about the black hole at the galactic centre </a></li></ul></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/grb/"> Gamma-Ray Bursts </a></li><li class=""><a href="/public/science/archive/"> Science Archive </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li><a href="/public/events/">Events<span class="fa fa-angle-down level0-children-arrows"></span></a> <span class="mobile-children"> <span class="fa fa-angle-down"></span> </span> <div class="level1-wrapper"> <div class="level1"> <ul id="submenu-aim-434" class="submenu-aim"> <li class=""><a href="/public/events/press-evt/"> Press Events </a></li><li class="submenu"><a href="/public/events/special-evt/"> Special Events <span class="desktop-children topmenu-arrow fa 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<div class="container " id="body"> <div class="row no-page"> <div class="col-md-12"> </div> </div> <div class="row page"> <div class="col-md-12 one-column"> <div id="edit-info-block"> <div id="page-edit-success" class="alert alert-success alert-dismissible" role="alert" style="display: none"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> Page saved successfully </div> <div id="page-edit-failure" class="alert alert-danger alert-dismissible" role="alert" style="display: none"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> Couldn't save page :( Please try again. </div> </div> <div class='page-content'> <div id="editable-content"> <h1>Very Large Telescope</h1> <h2>The world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory</h2> <div class='paranalWebcam'>  <script src="/public/archives/static/pano/krpano/krpano119.js"></script> <div class="webcam-wrapper" style="width:100%"> <div id="pano" style="width:100%;height:400px"> <script> embedpano({xml: "/public/archives/static/pano/latest/HD_Pano_cube.xml?%$random%", target: "pano", html5: "only"}); </script>  <div class="webcam-timestamp"><span class="pano-timestamp">Webcam | 09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span></div> <div class="webcam-live">LIVE</div> </div> </div>  <p align="center">Latest available panoramic image of Paranal (<span class="pano-timestamp">09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span>)<br>Please note that the webcams are currently under maintenance and will be fully operational as soon as possible.</p> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p>ESO's <strong class="bltxt">Very Large Telescope (VLT)</strong> is a flagship facility for European ground-based astronomy. It is one of the world's most advanced optical telescopes, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with main mirrors of 8.2m diameter and four movable 1.8m diameter Auxiliary Telescopes. The telescopes can work together, to form a giant ‘interferometer’, the <a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/telescopes/vlti.html">ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer</a>, allowing astronomers to pick up much finer details of the cosmos than would be possible with the ATs or the UTs alone. </p> <p>The 8.2m diameter Unit Telescopes can also be used individually. With one such telescope, images of celestial objects as faint as magnitude 30 can be obtained in a one-hour exposure. This corresponds to seeing objects that are four billion (four thousand million) times fainter than what can be seen with the unaided eye.</p> <p>The large telescopes are <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/vlt-names.html">named</a> <strong class="bltxt">Antu</strong>, <strong class="bltxt">Kueyen</strong>, <strong class="bltxt">Melipal</strong> and <strong class="bltxt">Yepun</strong>. </p> <div style="margin-top: 30px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/safety-paranal/"><img src="/public/archives/images/screen/safety-paranal.jpg" alt="Paranal map and safety" style="max-width: 100%;"></a> <div><small><em>Paranal map and safety. Credit: ESO</em></small></div></div> <div class='paranalWebcam'> <a name="UTwebcam"></a><h2>Webcam</h2> <p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="webcam-wrapper"> <a href="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/preset_6.jpg"><img src="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/preset_6.jpg" border="0" style="width: 100%"></a> <div class="webcam-timestamp"><span class="pano-timestamp">Webcam | 09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span></div> <div class="webcam-live">LIVE</div> </div> <p style="text-align: center;"><small>Latest available image of MELIPAL, also known as UT3 (<span class="pano-timestamp">09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span>)</small></p> <p></p> <p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="webcam-wrapper"> <a href="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/preset_7.jpg"><img src="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/preset_7.jpg" border="0" style="width: 100%"></a> <div class="webcam-timestamp"><span class="pano-timestamp">Webcam | 09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span></div> <div class="webcam-live">LIVE</div> </div> <p style="text-align: center;"><small>On extremely clear days the magnificent 6739-metre volcano Llullaillaco is visible in the background of this photograph. It is an amazing 190 kilometres away on the border with Argentina. (<span class="pano-timestamp">09 Mar 2017 19:01 CET</span>)</small></p> </div> <table> <tbody> <tr> <td width="50%" valign="top"> <div class='paranalWebcam'> <p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="webcam-wrapper"> <a href="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/preset_99.jpg"> <img src="/public/archives/static/pano/latest/POI/460x/preset_99.jpg"> </a> <div class="webcam-timestamp"><span class="pano-timestamp">Webcam | 20 Oct 2016 12:03 CEST</span></div> <div class="webcam-live" style="top: unset; bottom: 0px;">LIVE</div> </div><div align="center">Circular fisheye</div><p></p> </div> </td> <td> <div class='paranalWebcam'> <p style="text-align: left;"></p> <div class="webcam-wrapper"> <a href="/public/archives/static/allsky/latest/preset_101.jpg"> <img src="/public/archives/static/allsky/latest/460x/preset_101.jpg"> </a> <div class="webcam-timestamp"><span class="allsky-timestamp">Webcam | 20 Oct 2016 12:03 CEST</span></div> <div class="webcam-live" style="top: unset; bottom: 0px;">LIVE</div> </div> <div align="center">Extra deep night-time circular fisheye. NB: only live at night.</div><p></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2>A Tour at Paranal Observatory</h2> <table border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="50%"> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="/public/products/virtualtours/paranal/"><img class="nopadding" src="/public/archives/static/teles-instr/vlt/images/vlt-vt.jpg" alt="Virtual Tour at ESO Very Large Telescope" border="0" style="width: 100%"></a></p> <p style="text-align: center; margin-top: -7px;"><small>Click on the image to take a <a href="/public/products/virtualtours/paranal/">Virtual Tour</a> in and nearby the VLT.</small></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h3 style="margin-top: -5px;"> </h3> <h3 style="margin-top: -5px;">Visit Paranal Observatory</h3> <ul> <li>Journalists, science writers and producers, please see <a href="/public/outreach/pressmedia/mediavisits/">Media Visits</a></li> <li>Tourist, students and lay people, please see <a href="/public/about-eso/visitors/paranal/">Tourists and Students Visits</a></li> </ul> <h2 style="margin-top: 25px;">Telescopes and Instruments</h2> <p>The <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/vlt-instr.html">VLT instrumentation programme</a> is the most ambitious programme ever conceived for a single observatory. It includes large-field imagers, adaptive optics corrected cameras and spectrographs, as well as high-resolution and multi-object spectrographs and covers a broad spectral region, from deep ultraviolet (300 nm) to mid-infrared (24 µm) wavelengths.</p> <h3>The Unit Telescopes</h3> <p>The 8.2m diameter telescopes are housed in compact, thermally controlled buildings, which rotate synchronously with the telescopes. This design minimises any adverse effects on the observing conditions, for instance from air turbulence in the telescope tube, which might otherwise occur due to variations in the temperature and wind flow. The first of the Unit Telescopes, 'Antu', went into routine scientific operations on 1 April 1999. Today, all four Unit Telescopes and all four Auxiliary Telescopes are operational.</p> <p>VLT Unit Telescope enclosures:</p> <ul> <li>Height: 2850 cm</li> <li>Diameter: 2900 cm</li> </ul> <h3>The Auxiliary Telescopes</h3> <p>Although the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes can be combined in the VLTI, they are mostly used for individual observations and are only available for interferometric observations for a limited number of nights every year. But four smaller, dedicated 1.8-metre <a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/telescopes/vlti/at/">Auxiliary Telescopes</a> (ATs) are available to allow the VLTI to operate every night.</p> <p>More information is available <a href="/public/teles-instr/vlt/auxiliarytelescopes/">on this link</a></p> <h2>Science with the Very Large Telescope</h2> <p><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0846a/"><img style="float: left; padding: 5px 20px 10px 0px;" src="/public/archives/images/potwmedium/eso0846a.jpg" alt=""></a>The VLT has made an undisputed impact on observational astronomy. It is the most productive individual ground-based facility, and results from the VLT have led to the publication of an average of more than one peer-reviewed scientific paper per day. VLT contributes greatly to making ESO the most productive ground-based observatory in the world. The VLT has stimulated a new age of discoveries, with several notable scientific firsts, including the first image of an extrasolar planet (<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0428/">eso0428</a>), tracking individual stars moving around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way (<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0846/">eso0846</a>), and observing the afterglow of the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/farthest_grb.html">furthest known Gamma-Ray Burst</a>.</p> <h3>More about Science with the VLT</h3> <ul> <li><a href="/public/science/">Science with ESO Telescopes</a> </li> <li><a href="/public/science/top10/">ESO Top 10 Astronomical Discoveries</a>, n° 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 (also available as <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/products/presentations/topdiscoveries/">presentation</a>)</li> </ul> <h2>More about the Very Large Telescope</h2> <ul> <li>More interesting facts are available on the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/faq/faq-vlt-paranal.html">FAQs page</a></li> <li>More <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/">images</a> and <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/videos/archive/category/paranal/">videos</a> are available in the ESO multimedia archive</li> <li>Read more on about this telescope on the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/products/handouts/handout_0003/">VLT Handout</a> in PDF format</li> <li><strong class="bltxt">For Scientists</strong>: for more detailed information, please see our <a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/">technical pages</a></li> <li>More detailed background and technical information is provided in the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/products/books/vlt_whitebook/">VLT Whitebook</a></li> </ul> <h2>Residencia</h2> <p>The VLT hotel, the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/archives/static/events/special-evt/bond/Residencia.html">Residencia</a>, is an award-winning building, and served as a backdrop for part of the James Bond movie <em>Quantum of Solace</em>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0807a/"><img src="/public/archives/images/screen/eso0807a.jpg" alt="" style="width: 100%"></a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2>The VLT Trailer</h2> <div class="youtube-wrapper"> <iframe id="youtube-player" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1" title="YouTube video player" width="688" height="387" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LY_zLR9kE1w?modestbranding=1&hl=en&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eso.org&widgetid=1"></iframe> </div> <p style="text-align: center;"><small>Download the VLT trailer in the <a href="/public/videos/pao-trailer2017-eng/">video archive</a>.</small></p> <p> </p> <div class="box2"> <table class="table table-bordered" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <h3>VLT</h3> <table class="table"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="60"><strong>Name:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Very Large Telescope</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="30"><strong>Site:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Cerro Paranal</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="30"><strong>Altitude:</strong></td> <td valign="top">2635 m</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Enclosure:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Compact optimised cylindrical enclosure</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Type:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Optical/infrared, with interferometry</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Optical design:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Ritchey-Chrétien reflector</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Diameter. Primary M1:</strong></td> <td valign="top">8.20 m</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Material. Primary M1:</strong></td> <td valign="top">ZeroDur</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Diameter. Secondary M2:</strong></td> <td valign="top">0.94 m</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Material. Secondary M2:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Beryllium</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Diameter. Tertiary M3:</strong></td> <td valign="top">1.242 x 0.866 m (elliptical flat)</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Mount:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Alt-Azimuth mount</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>First Light date:</strong></td> <td valign="top">UT1, Antu: 25 May 1998<br> UT2, Kueyen: 1 March 1999<br> UT3, Melipal: 26 Jan 2000<br> UT4, Yepun: 4 September 2000</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Active Optics:</strong></td> <td valign="top">Yes</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Adaptive Optics:</strong></td> <td valign="top">UT4: Laser Guide Star + SINFONI<br>UT1: NACO<br>UT3: SPHERE</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Interferometry:</strong></td> <td valign="top">UT maximum 130 m baseline. UT + AT maximum 140 m baseline.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Images taken with the VLT:</strong></td> <td valign="top"><a href="/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&facility=31">Link</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Images of the VLT:</strong></td> <td valign="top"><a href="/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=Very%20Large%20Telescope">Link</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Videos of the VLT:</strong></td> <td valign="top"><a href="/public/videos/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=Very%20Large%20Telescope">Link</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><strong>Press Releases with the VLT:</strong></td> <td valign="top"><a href="/public/news/archive/search/?adv=&facility=31">Link</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p> </p> <div class="randomtext"> <noscript> <div class="box3" style="display: none;"> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br> The smallest detail distinguishable with the VLT's adaptive optics system is smaller than the size of a DVD on the International Space Station, as seen from the ground (about 50 milliarcseconds) </div> </noscript> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c0" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The smallest detail distinguishable with the VLT's adaptive optics system is smaller than the size of a DVD on the International Space Station, as seen from the ground (about 50 milliarcseconds).</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c1" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The smallest detail distinguishable with the VLTI is about the size of a sesame seed on the International Space Station, as seen from the ground (about 2 milliarcseconds).</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c3" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>Stars form in dense clouds of the interstellar medium, but even in these densest regions the pressure is comparable to the most tenuous vacuum created in a laboratory on Earth. In these clouds, the temperatures are below -200 degrees Celsius.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c4" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>When astronomers combine the light waves from two telescopes using the principle of interferometry, they can very precisely determine the direction of an object in space. Your ears work in a similar way to localise sounds, by comparing the sound received at the left and right ears.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c5" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The skies over the ESO sites in Chile are so dark that on a clear moonless night it is possible to see your shadow cast by the light of the Milky Way alone.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c6" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The VLT 8.2-metre diameter primary mirrors were polished so precisely that if they were scaled up to the diameter of the Earth, the largest imperfection on them would still be no larger than a pebble.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c7" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The VLT mirrors are 8.2 metres in diameter, but only 17.5 cm thick — very thin relative to their size. If you scaled the mirror down to the size of a CD, its thickness would be equivalent to just two discs placed on top of each other. Despite being very thin, the large diameter means the glass weighs 23 tonnes.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c8" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The movable structure of each VLT Unit Telescopes weighs about the same as a fully loaded jumbo jet. However, it is so perfectly balanced, resting on hydrostatic oil-film bearings, that the giant telescopes can be moved by hand.</div> <div id="b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c9" class="box3" style="display: none;"><strong>Did you know?</strong><br>The Paranal observatory site is so remote that everything needed must be brought in specially. The 60 000 litres of water that are used per day are delivered by truck from Antofagasta.</div>  <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript"> var tlength = 10; if (tlength > 0) { var rndtext_no = Math.floor(tlength*Math.random()); var id = 'b75521ab-b5a7-43fb-8df4-8dafdab1776c' + rndtext_no; var randomtext = document.getElementById(id); randomtext.style.display = ''; } </script> </div> <p> </p> <div> <h3>The VLT on Google map</h3> <p><iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d4604.44962071238!2d-70.40657844880684!3d-24.627487807631795!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x96a54b61d20df8a7%3A0xffc2d3eef16a026b!2sVery+Large+Telescope!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1551708419893" width="100%" height="350" frameborder="0" style="border:0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br /> <center><small><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/iBwQDCmpH542">View Larger Map</a></small></center> <p> </p> <p><a href="/public/archives/static/outreach/products/kmz/paranalobservatory.kmz"><img src="/public/archives/static/teles-instr/vlt/images/vltmodel.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="100%"></a><br /> Download the 3D models of the telescopes and see them in Google earth (<a href="/public/archives/static/outreach/products/kmz/paranalobservatory.kmz">kmz file, 4.8MB</a>)</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="row footernote"> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="mailto:information@eso.org">Send us your comments!</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="/public/outreach/newsletters/esonews/">Subscribe to receive news from ESO in your language</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="https://www.cdn77.com">Accelerated by CDN77</a> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 col-md-3"> <a href="/public/about-eso/privacy/">Terms & Conditions</a> </div> </div> <link href="/public/archives/djp/css/extras.d3e54451ebbb.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script type="text/javascript">var MEDIA_URL = "/public/archives/"</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/public/archives/djp/js/main.04a7335af5a0.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> const getWebcamStatus = async (cam) => { const url = '/public/outreach/webcamstatus/' + cam + '/'; 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