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Very Large Telescope
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<p>The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the <a href="/facts/European_Southern_Observatory/mJtjDbwx">European Southern Observatory</a>, located on <a href="/facts/Cerro_Paranal/Nm7hpuMe">Cerro Paranal</a> in the <a href="/facts/Atacama_Desert/RmLNNvvg">Atacama Desert</a> of northern <a href="/facts/Chile/uEyTfEcx">Chile</a>. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with a <a href="/facts/Primary_mirror/juxwTBYa">primary mirror</a> that measures 8.2 metres (27 ft) in diameter. These <a href="/facts/Optical_telescope/dVfBR10I">optical telescopes</a>, named <i>Antu</i>, <i>Kueyen</i>, <i>Melipal</i>, and <i>Yepun</i> (all words for astronomical objects in the <a href="/facts/Mapuche_language/kl1shd1z">Mapuche language</a>), are generally used separately but can be combined to achieve a very high <a href="/facts/Angular_resolution/wJarPBWF">angular resolution</a>. The VLT array is also complemented by four movable Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) with 1.8-metre (5.9 ft) apertures. </p><p>The VLT is capable of observing both <a href="/facts/Visible_light/jeofpMn4">visible</a> and <a href="/facts/Infrared/44XdJNcc">infrared</a> <a href="/facts/Wavelength/kcJU0ymz">wavelengths</a>. Each individual telescope can detect objects that are roughly four billion times fainter than what can be seen with the <a href="/facts/Naked_eye/ePEIa0lK">naked eye</a>. When all the telescopes are combined, the facility can achieve an <a href="/facts/Angular_resolution/wJarPBWF">angular resolution</a> of approximately 0.002 arcsecond. In single telescope mode, the angular resolution is about 0.05 arcseconds. </p><p>The VLT is one of the most productive facilities for astronomy, second only to the <a href="/facts/Hubble_Space_Telescope/NQeIf0vw">Hubble Space Telescope</a> in terms of the number of scientific papers produced from facilities operating at visible wavelengths. Some of the pioneering observations made using the VLT include the first direct image of an <a href="/facts/Exoplanet/zjfmqfUf">exoplanet</a>, the tracking of stars orbiting around the <a href="/facts/Supermassive_black_hole/BcuTx8Q5">supermassive black hole</a> at the centre of the <a href="/facts/Milky_Way/ulF6lccN">Milky Way</a>, and observations of the afterglow of the <a href="/facts/GRB_090423/jbvvdsK1">furthest known gamma-ray burst</a>. </p>