VERY LARGE TELESCOPE - PARANAL OBSERVATORY

The Very Large Telescope is probably the best in the field of sky observation, apart from space telescopes! Installed on the summit of Mount Paranal at an altitude of more than 2600 m, it is composed of 4 giant telescopes, each equipped with an 8.2 m mirror, operating separately or in concert depending on the needs and the types of objects to be studied. Mount Paranal enjoys ideal climatic conditions with more than 300 clear nights per year, low humidity and a very stable atmosphere. The VLT has made it possible to make important discoveries: in 2004, an extra-solar planet was photographed through its telescopes for the first time. During the visit, you can see the domes with their metallic shapes and colours, before discovering one of the telescopes used by professionals. It must be admitted that at this stage the most blasé of travellers remains amazed at the gigantic size of the telescope and its main mirror. The mirror is surprising because of its thin monolithic design, only 17.6 cm for 23 tons (!). If you are lucky enough to visit the observatory during a technical maintenance, you can admire the telescope turning on itself in a cathedral-like silence, hardly disturbed by the noise of the accessories working 24 hours a day. The visit also includes the observatory's control room, from which the astronomers and technicians control the telescope and prepare their manipulations.