Colorful Night Sky over Paranal Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert | ESO

Colorful Night Sky over Paranal Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert | ESO

Above Paranal Observatory, the skies regularly display a myriad of colors and astronomical sights, from the plane of the Milky Way shining brightly overhead to the orange-hued speck of Mars (left), the starry constellations of Scorpius and Orion, and the magenta splash of the Carina Nebula (upper middle). Despite the remote location there are also occasional signs of human activity, for example the sequence of lamps seen in the center of the frame. These faint lights illuminate the route from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) where this image was taken.

Due to the highly sensitive camera this photograph also showcases a mysterious phenomenon called airglow. The night sky is ablaze with deep red and eerie green hues, caused by the faint glow of Earth’s atmosphere. Because of airglow, no observatory site on Earth could ever be absolutely, completely dark—although the European Southern Observatory’s do come pretty close.

This image was taken by talented astronomer and photographer Yuri Beletsky,

Credit: Y. Beletsky (LCO)/ESO

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2016

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