The Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius above the Cerro Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The Lagoon Nebula (M8) appears at the upper right. At 2,635 metres (8,645 ft) from sea level, with its dark and transparent sky, Paranal is home to the Very Large Telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is composed of four 8-metre telescopes and several 1-meter auxiliary telescopes (pictured here) which are important part of the VLT interferometer.