As night falls on the Atacama desert in northern Chile four giant telescopes turn their gaze towards the star-strewn heavens.

While astronomers often set their sights on the stars, the landscapes surrounding their observatories can be just as ...

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a stunning 80 million-pixel image of the star cluster RCW 38, as captured by ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), ...

Observatories in Chile’s Atacama Desert, including the world’s largest optical telescope, could be blinded by light pollution ...

Another special element of desert weddings in Chile is the incorporation of indigenous rituals into the ceremony. Couples can ...

ESO estimates the complex will leak as much light pollution as a city with a population of about 20,000. Parts of the ...

A narrow canyon leading to the volcano Licancabur in the Atacama Desert. At night, the singular views continue: located miles above sea level with no major cities to bring in obstructing light ...

Reach for the stars with our guide to the best dark-sky reserves on the planet, from the French Pyrenees to the Atacama ...

The European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) — the world's largest visible- and infrared-light telescope — is currently under development on the Cerro Armazones mountain ...

The Atacama is the world’s driest non-polar desert – a landscape so vast and ... I fly into Calama, the nearest airport, amid an orange-streaked night sky, and over the days that follow ...

ESO's Extremely Large Telescope under construction in the Atacama desert in January 2025 ... which will remain closed during the day and open at night, allowing the telescope to survey the ...