High atop the arid plateaus of Chile's Atacama Desert, one of humanity's most powerful astronomical instruments peers into the depths of the cosmos: the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the VLT has long been at the forefront of astronomical discovery, as scientists use its cutting-edge technology to explore distant galaxies, and some, like our own Milky Way, that are closer to home.
