The Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) at Paranal

The Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) is located at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. This project will search for transiting exoplanets — planets that pass in front of their parent star and hence produce a slight dimming of the star’s light that can be detected by sensitive instruments. The telescopes will focus on discovering Neptune-sized and smaller planets, with diameters between two and eight times that of Earth.

This night time long-exposure view shows the telescopes during testing. The spectacular central parts of the Milky Way appear the background.