Launch pad

Your first contact with the universe

Four kinds of new gravitational waves have been detected and the ISS gets a new AI companion, while ESA is hard at work testing equipment for both its JUpiter ICy moons Explorer and the ExoMars mission.

Sitting under the arc of the

Milky Way is one of the Auxiliary Telescopes that constitutes the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). This amazing array of dishes has led to some of the most inspiring results from some of the darkest corners of the universe. Not only that, it has contributed heavily to many scientific studies.

However, looking at it from the outside reveals some breathtaking views as well.

Its location at the Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert presents ideal conditions for night-sky observing due to the vast dry climate (inset image), combined with thin atmosphere.