ESO operates the La Silla Paranal Observatory, providing some of the world's largest and most advanced observational facilities at three sites in Northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor.

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Cerro Paranal is ESO's premier site for observations in the visible and infrared light. All four unit telescopes of 8.2m diameter are individually in operation with a large collection of instruments.

On La Silla, ESO operates two major telescopes (3.6-m telescope, New Technology Telescope (NTT). They are equipped with state of the art instruments either built completely by ESO or by external consortia, with substantial contribution by ESO.

APEX, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, is a collaboration between Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), and the European Organisation for Astronomical Reseach in the Southern Hemiphere (ESO). APEX has a suite of heterodyne spectrometers and wide-field bolometer cameras operating in most of the atmospheric windows from 0.2 to 1.4 mm.

In Case of Emergency

Call 4444 (La Silla), 5555 (Paranal),

APEX: Check the Safety Contacts Page.

Please be aware of the Emergency Procedures for the sites:

• Emergency Procedures for La Silla
• Emergency Procedures for Paranal
• Emergency Procedures for APEX

Observatory Latest News

• Please consult the News page, accessible also from the left menu, for updates regarding Covid-19 restrictions.

Quick Links

• Paranal Science Operations
• Paranal Instrumentation
• La Silla Science Operations
• La Silla Instrumentation

Contact Information

• Contact Overview
• Paranal Contact List:
• La Silla Contact List
• APEX Contact List

Visiting the Observatory

• Please read the details about visiting the La Silla Paranal Observatory sites
• Paranal Information
• La Silla Information