Time-Lapse: The ESO Observatories

The northern part of Chile is a forbidding and remote desert. Called the Atacama, it is one of the driest places on Earth, and also reaches high elevations; in some places the desert floor is 4000 meters above sea level... and that's not counting the numerous mountains and volcanoes that stretch even higher. All of this is why the Atacama is home to some of the finest astronomical telescopes observatories on the planet. The clear air lets through a lot of light, visible light as well as other fl...