La Silla Observatory
La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was the first in Chile to be used by ESO.[1]
Alternative names
The La Silla telescopes and instruments are located 150 km northeast of La Serena at the outskirts of the Chilean Atacama Desert, one of the driest and most remote areas of the world. Like other observatories in this geographical area, La Silla is located far from sources of light pollution and, like the Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope, it has one of the darkest night skies on the Earth.
Scientific discoveries[edit]
About 300 scientific papers based on observations taken at La Silla are published each year. The HARPS spectrograph has found a large number of low-mass extrasolar planets. It detected the planets within the Gliese 581 planetary system, which contains what may be the first known rocky planet in a habitable zone, outside the Solar System.[41] Several telescopes at La Silla played a crucial role in linking gamma-ray bursts—the most energetic explosions in the Universe since the Big Bang—with the explosions of massive stars. Since 1987, the ESO La Silla Observatory has also played an important role in the study and follow-up of the nearest recent supernova, SN 1987A.
Stars rotate around the southern celestial pole during a night at La Silla
![Morning Light Over La Silla.[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Morning_Light_Over_La_Silla.jpg/175px-Morning_Light_Over_La_Silla.jpg)
Telescope Domes clustered at La Silla
La Silla Observatory at sunset
![La Silla Observatory blanketed in snow as the Sun sets.[51]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Cloud_City_in_a_Galaxy_Far%2C_Far_Away.jpg/175px-Cloud_City_in_a_Galaxy_Far%2C_Far_Away.jpg)
La Silla Observatory during daytime
This remarkable photo shows the ESO La Silla observatory in the foreground with the planets Venus and Jupiter low in the sky and the Milky Way drifting behind them.[52]
![This remarkable photo shows the ESO La Silla observatory in the foreground with the planets Venus and Jupiter low in the sky and the Milky Way drifting behind them.[52]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Venus%2C_Jupiter_and_the_Art_of_Patience_-_potw2005a.jpg/175px-Venus%2C_Jupiter_and_the_Art_of_Patience_-_potw2005a.jpg)
This picture shows two of the three new ExTrA telescopes hosted at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. Situated over 2000 meters above sea level, these telescopes scour the skies for Earth-sized worlds around M class stars, which are stars smaller than the Sun.[53]
![This picture shows two of the three new ExTrA telescopes hosted at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. Situated over 2000 meters above sea level, these telescopes scour the skies for Earth-sized worlds around M class stars, which are stars smaller than the Sun.[53]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Shooting_Star_over_La_Silla.jpg/175px-Shooting_Star_over_La_Silla.jpg)