Paranal power

We can expect more of this from Paranal

By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse

This spectacular image of the cosmos is one of the first pictures taken by the second optical telescope to come online at the Paranal Observatory in the Atacama desert, Chile.

Paranal: Benefits from the clear skies over northern Chile

Over the next few years, when all four main telescopes at the observatory are commissioned, the Paranal facility will become one of the most powerful in the world.

Eventually, the four main telescopes will be linked electronically, but already, as each individual telescope becomes operational, some spectacular pictures are being produced that demonstrate the observatory's promise.

The main image on this page is of a gas cloud in the constellation of the Chamaeleon near the southern pole of the sky.

Exceptional time

Bright, young stars illuminate the gas. Astronomers call this a reflection nebula. The stars are seen against the backdrop of dark clouds of molecules, which partially obscure distant starfields.

NGC 2997: A spiral galaxy

It has been a busy time at the Paranal site, which is run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an intergovernmental, European organisation for astronomical research. The first telescope at the facility recently produced its sharpest image so far.

This happened on the night of 4 and 5 March when the skies were exceptionally clear.

During a 6-minute exposure of the majestic spiral galaxy, NGC 2997, a beautiful colour-composite image was obtained.

At this excellent resolution, individual star forming regions are clearly visible. Of particular interest is the peculiar, twisted shape of the long spiral arm of the galaxy.