Sunset over ESO's Paranal Observatory

Before a night of observing the stars begins, there must be a sunset. The end of a working day on Earth has created a winsome picture over the European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s Paranal Observatory, Chile, illuminating the many telescopes there and, in particular, the Very Large Telescope (VLT).

The VLT consists of four separate 8.2-metre telescopes, which when combined, produce a giant interferometer. Paranal Observatory is also home to the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and the VISTA Survey Telescope.