One Very Large Telescope Lowerlevel_01

The three men climb out of a car. They have driven many hours through a desert. They are now in the middle of the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. Their destination is Cerro Parana. They are headed to the Paranal Residencia Hotel.

The men are excited. The hotel only hosts scientists. So why is there a hotel for scientists in the middle of a desert?

The hotel in the desert is home to the Very Large Telescope or VLT. It is one of the newest and best telescopes on the planet. The VLT is made of four telescopes that work together to form one image. The VLT can see 4 billion times better than you. Wow! That is why scientists studying the sky want to come here.

Stars appear as small points of light in the night sky. Telescopes allow us to see more stars than what we can see with just our eyes. They are tools to help us see stars that are far away or very dim. The VLT allows scientists to view these hard-to-see stars better. The VLT is better than any other telescope.