Editing European Southern Observatory (section)

=== Paranal ===
{{Main|Paranal Observatory}}

The Paranal Observatory is located atop [[Cerro Paranal]] in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Cerro Paranal is a {{convert|2635|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} mountain about {{convert|120|km}} south of [[Antofagasta]] and {{convert|12|km}} from the Pacific coast.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/site/paranal.html |title=Paranal Site Details |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2013-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005055420/http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/site/paranal.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The observatory has seven major telescopes operating in visible and infrared light: the four {{convert|8.2|m|adj=on}} telescopes of the Very Large Telescope, the {{convert|2.6|m|adj=on}} VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and the {{convert|4.1|m|adj=on}} Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy. In addition, there are four {{convert|1.8|m|adj=on}} auxiliary telescopes forming an array used for [[interferometric]] observations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr.html |title=Telescopes and Instrumentation |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2013-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901034805/http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2008, Paranal was the location for several scenes of the 22nd James Bond film, ''[[Quantum of Solace]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 March 2008 |title=A Giant of Astronomy and a Quantum of Solace |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso08007/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2012-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419194710/http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso08007/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/ | title = IMDB—Quantum of Solace (2008) | website = [[IMDb]] | access-date = 2011-05-04 | archive-date = 2011-05-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110501212031/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0830515/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

{{Panorama
| image = 360-degree Panorama of the Southern Sky.jpg
| height = 150
| caption = A 360-degree panoramic view of the southern night sky from Paranal, with telescopes in foreground
}}

==== Very Large Telescope ====
{{Main|Very Large Telescope}}
{{multiple image
 |direction = vertical
 |align     = right
 |width     = 225
 |image1    = Paranal platform.jpg
 |image2    = The VLT´s Laser Guide Star.jpg
 |caption1  = [[Very Large Telescope]] (VLT). Complex of four large telescopes and several smaller ones.
 |caption2  = VLT Laser Guide Star. The orange laser beam from the telescope is used for [[adaptive optics]].
}}

The main facility at Paranal is the VLT, which consists of four nearly identical {{convert|8.2|m|adj=on}} unit telescopes (UTs), each hosting two or three instruments. These large telescopes can also work together in groups of two or three as a giant [[Interferometry|interferometer]]. The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) allows astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than those seen with the individual telescopes. The light beams are combined in the VLTI with a complex system of mirrors in tunnels, where the light paths must diverge less than 1/1000&nbsp;mm over 100 metres. The VLTI can achieve an [[angular resolution]] of milliarcseconds, equivalent to the ability to see the headlights of a car on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt.html |title=The Very Large Telescope |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2013-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827183731/http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first of the UTs had its [[First light (astronomy)|first light]] in May 1998, and was offered to the astronomical community on 1 April 1999.<ref name="A Great Moment for Astronomy">{{cite news |date=27 May 1998 |title=A Great Moment for Astronomy |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso9820/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521203429/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso9820/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The other telescopes followed suit in 1999 and 2000, making the VLT fully operational. Four 1.8-metre auxiliary telescopes (ATs), installed between 2004 and 2007, have been added to the VLTI for accessibility when the UTs are used for other projects.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 December 2006 |title=Little Brother Joins the Large Family |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0651/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520092402/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0651/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Data from the VLT have led to the publication of an average of more than one peer-reviewed scientific paper per day; in 2017, over 600 reviewed scientific papers were published based on VLT data.<ref name="ESOstats"/> The VLT's scientific discoveries include imaging an extrasolar planet,<ref>{{cite news |date=21 November 2008 |title=Beta Pictoris planet finally imaged? |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0842/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114538/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0842/ |url-status=live }}</ref> tracking individual stars moving around the [[supermassive black hole]] at the centre of the Milky Way<ref name="eso.org">{{cite news |date=10 December 2008 |title=Unprecedented 16-Year Long Study Tracks Stars Orbiting Milky Way Black Hole |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0846/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114546/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0846/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and observing the afterglow of the furthest known gamma-ray burst.<ref>{{cite news |date=19 September 2008 |title=NASA's Swift Catches Farthest Ever Gamma-Ray Burst |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/farthest_grb.html |publisher=NASA |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114546/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/farthest_grb.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the Paranal inauguration in March 1999, names of celestial objects in the [[Mapuche language]] were chosen to replace the technical designations of the four VLT Unit Telescopes (UT1–UT4). An essay contest was prior arranged for schoolchildren in the region concerning the meaning of these names which attracted many entries dealing with the cultural heritage of ESO's host country. A 17-year-old adolescent from [[Chuquicamata]], near [[Calama, Chile|Calama]], submitted the winning essay and was awarded an amateur telescope during the inauguration.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 March 1999 |title=VLT Unit Telescopes Named at Paranal Inauguration |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso9921/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114554/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso9921/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The four unit telescopes, UT1, UT2, UT3 and UT4, are since known as ''Antu'' (sun), ''Kueyen'' (moon), ''Melipal'' (Southern Cross), and ''Yepun'' (Evening Star),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/vlt-names.html |title=Names of VLT Unit Telescopes |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2013-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807063615/http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/vlt-names.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with the latter having been originally mistranslated as "Sirius", instead of "Venus".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/yepun.html | title=On the Meaning of "YEPUN" | access-date=2011-05-04 | archive-date=2010-11-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110110223/http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/yepun.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Survey telescopes ====
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
| width             = 225
| image1            = VISTA at Paranal Eso0704b.tif
| image2            = Vst view.jpg
| caption1          = Enclosure of British developed [[VISTA (telescope)|VISTA]]
| caption2          = [[VLT Survey Telescope|VST]] seen in the back between VLT's dome-shaped auxiliary telescopes
}}

[[Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy]] (VISTA) is housed on the peak adjacent to the one hosting the VLT, sharing observational conditions. VISTA's main mirror is {{convert|4.1|m}} across, a highly curved mirror for its size and quality. Its deviations from a perfect surface are less than a few thousandths the thickness of a human hair, and its construction and polishing presented a challenge.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 December 2009 |title=VISTA: Pioneering New Survey Telescope Starts Work |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0949/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521205956/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0949/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

VISTA was conceived and developed by a consortium of 18 universities in the United Kingdom led by [[Queen Mary, University of London]], and it became an in-kind contribution to ESO as part of the UK's ratification agreement. The telescope's design and construction were managed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council's [[UK Astronomy Technology Centre]] (STFC, UK ATC). Provisional acceptance of VISTA was formally granted by ESO at the December 2009 ceremony at ESO headquarters in Garching, which was attended by representatives of Queen Mary, University of London and STFC. Since then the telescope has been operated by ESO,<ref>{{cite news |date=11 December 2009 |title=First stunning images captured by VISTA Telescope |url=http://www.stfc.ac.uk/News+and+Events/13651.aspx |publisher=STFC |access-date=2011-05-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308055042/http://www.stfc.ac.uk/News+and+Events/13651.aspx |archive-date=8 March 2011 }}</ref> capturing quality images since it began operation.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 February 2010 |title=Orion in a New Light |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1006/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114627/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1006/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=5 January 2011 |title=VISTA Stares Deeply into the Blue Lagoon |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1101/ |publisher=ESO |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2020-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520114629/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1101/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[VLT Survey Telescope]] (VST) is a state-of-the-art, {{convert|2.6|m|adj=on}} telescope equipped with OmegaCAM, a 268-megapixel CCD camera with a field of view four times the area of the full moon. It complements VISTA by surveying the sky in visible light. The VST (which became operational in 2011) is the result of a joint venture between ESO and the [[Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte]] (Naples), a research centre at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics [[INAF]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1119/|title=First Images from the VLT Survey Telescope|access-date=2011-10-05|archive-date=2020-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521222318/https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1119/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://vstportal.oacn.inaf.it/ |title=VLT Survey Telescope Center at Naples Web Portal |access-date=2011-05-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305031627/http://vstportal.oacn.inaf.it/ |archive-date=2007-03-05 }}</ref>

The scientific goals of both surveys range from the nature of dark energy to assessing [[near-Earth object]]s. Teams of European astronomers will conduct the surveys; some will cover most of the southern sky, while others will focus on smaller areas. VISTA and the VST are expected to produce large amounts of data; a single picture taken by VISTA has 67&nbsp;megapixels, and images from OmegaCam (on the VST) will have 268&nbsp;megapixels. The two survey telescopes collect more data every night than all the other instruments on the VLT combined. The VST and VISTA produce more than 100 terabytes of data per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/surveytelescopes.html |title=The ESO Survey Telescopes |access-date=2011-05-04 |archive-date=2013-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901065634/http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/surveytelescopes.html |url-status=live }}</ref>