The Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy: Our Close Galactic Neighbor
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This image transports you to the most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory in the world—the Very Large Telescope (VLT), located at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. With an estimated 30 billion stars, the Large Magellanic Cloud, at over 160,000 light years away, is visible at the center of the frame, while Canopus, the brightest star in the constellation Carina (The Keel), watches over the starry scene to the upper right. At 2,635 meters above sea level in the Atacama Desert of Chile, ESO’s Paranal Observatory is one of the best astronomical observing sites in the world. It is the flagship facility for European ground-based astronomy. It hosts several world-class telescopes; among them are the Very Large Telescope and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA).
The shadowy figure gazing at the dark skies is photographer Babak Tafreshi, as captured by his fellow ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek. For a moment, place yourself in Babak’s—or indeed Petr’s —shoes. The site is silent, dark, still. You stare up at the pristine Chilean night sky, which, with its extremely low levels of light pollution and water vapor, offers spectacular nighttime scenery to delight any astrophotographer or stargazer. With your trusty camera on hand, a night of amazing photo opportunities lies ahead; you anticipate spending clear hour after clear hour documenting the heavens, with no fear of cloudy weather appearing, uninvited, to spoil the view.
Credit: P. Horálek/ESO
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