Milky Way Across the Desert

Great care is taken to ensure that the site for a new telescope will provide the best possible observing conditions. 

This picture of the week was captured in 2019 by ESO photo ambassador Petr Horálek from the top of Cerro Armazones, Chile, where the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is being constructed. Situated in the heart of the Atacama desert, at an altitude of 3046 metres, this high and dry location will be vital to showcase and utilise the ELT’s incredible observational power. 

This extraordinary panorama of the Atacama desert frames a sprawling view of our own Milky Way galaxy, seen with stunning clarity as a result of the minimum light pollution in this remote area. Massive interstellar dust clouds obscure the more distant starlight, leading to the distinctive “mottled” band in the night sky.

Credit:

About the Image

Id:potw2115a
Type:Photographic
Release date:12 April 2021, 06:00
Size:29200 x 16925 px

About the Object

Name:Cerro Armazones, Milky Way
Type:Unspecified : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky
Category:Chile

Image Formats

Large JPEG
88.2 MB
Screensize JPEG
215.8 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
262.9 KB
1280x1024
435.7 KB
1600x1200
635.7 KB
1920x1200
757.4 KB
2048x1536
1.0 MB