Cerro Paranal and Cerro Armazones in Chile

This aerial view shows beautifully the Chilean Atacama Desert around the ESO Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope (seen at the bottom right). Close to the VLT, one can see the dome of the VISTA survey telescope, and to the right, the Paranal Residence and basecamp. The high peak in the distance is the 6 739-metre high volcano belonging to the Andes, Llullaillaco. To the middle left of the image, one can see an isolated peak with a curvy road leading to its summit. This is Cerro Armazones, the selected home for the future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).