Paranal Observatory, Astronomical observatory in Antofagasta Province, Chile
The Paranal Observatory operates multiple scientific telescopes in the Atacama Desert at an elevation of 2635 meters in northern Chile.
The European Southern Observatory inaugurated this advanced astronomical facility on April 1, 1999, establishing a new era in ground-based astronomy research.
The facility maintains four primary telescopes measuring 8.2 meters each, forming the Very Large Telescope array for detailed space observation studies.
The observatory contains residential buildings with a swimming pool, gardens, and dining facilities to support scientists during extended research periods.
The observatory includes specialized robotic telescopes dedicated to discovering planets outside our solar system through the Next-Generation Transit Survey program.
Location: Antofagasta Province
Official opening: April 1, 1999
Elevation above the sea: 2,635 m
Website: https://eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory
GPS coordinates: -24.62722,-70.40417
Latest update: May 26, 2025 21:03
The territories of Chile stretch from the Atacama Desert to Patagonia, featuring national parks, historic cities, lakes, and islands. The country has active volcanoes, glaciers, fjords, geysers, ancient forests, and deserts. UNESCO sites include Valparaíso, the Churches of Chiloé, Easter Island with its moai, and the mining towns of Humberstone and Sewell.
Very Large Telescope
31 m
Extremely Large Telescope
21.9 km
Mano del Desierto
57.9 km
Ruinas de Huanchaca
104.8 km
Estadio Regional de Antofagasta
106.5 km
VISTA
1.4 km
Cerro Paranal
101 m
VLT Survey Telescope
113 m
Cerro Armazones
21.9 km
Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research
31 m
Next-Generation Transit Survey
1.8 km
Cerro Murphy Observatory
21.3 km
St. Joseph's Cathedral, Antofagasta
109.1 km
Hexapod-Telescope
21.3 km
Casa Abaroa
107.8 km
Basílica del Corazón de María, Antofagasta
108 km
Casa Camus
108.9 km
Teatro Municipal de Antofagasta
109.2 km
Casa de la Cultura Andrés Sabella
109 km
St. Francis Xavier Church
87.2 km
Very Large Telescope Interferometer
84 m
Ex Teatro Alhambra de Taltal
87.3 km
Plaza José Franciso Vergara, Antofagasta
106.6 km
Cuartel General de Bomberos de Antofagasta
109.1 km
Cerro Coloso
92 km
SPECULOOS-South Observatory
1.9 km
Museo Ruinas de Huanchaca
104.8 km
Escuela D-73
108.9 kmReviews
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