Auxiliary telescopes, Paranal Observatory, Chile
Four auxiliary telescopes at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Paranal Observatory, Atacama Desert, Chile. This desert location offers dark skies and very low levels of light pollution, making it one of the best places in the world to observe the universe. The Milky Way's band appears at centre, while at right, two clouds can be observed. These are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, dwarf galaxies held in place by the Milky Way's gravity. Close to the horizon, faint shades of green and red are visible, this is called airglow. It is produced by atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, which emit faint light through various mechanisms, such as interaction with solar radiation or chemical reactions between molecules.
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Photo credit: © Juan Carlos Muñoz Mateos/EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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