Glowing Nebula Photo Marks New Telescope’s Inauguration A gorgeous photo of a star-forming region of space called the Carina Nebula marks the inauguration of a new telescope — the largest instrument in the world devoted to surveying the sky in visible light. Image: The spectacular star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. This picture was taken with the help of Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, during his visit to the observatory on June 5, 2012 and released on the occasion of the new telescope’s inauguration in Naples on Dec. 6, 2012. Credit: ESO. Acknowledgement: VPHAS+ Consortium/Cambridge The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile was officially inaugurated today (Dec. 6) in Naples, Italy. While the Carina nebula has been photographed many times before, most telescopes can only observe a small part of it at once. The VST, designed for large surveys of the sky, has a very wide field of view, and was able to image almost all of Carina in a single photo.

Glowing Nebula Photo Marks New Telescope’s Inauguration

A gorgeous photo of a star-forming region of space called the Carina Nebula marks the inauguration of a new telescope — the largest instrument in the world devoted to surveying the sky in visible light.

Image: The spectacular star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. This picture was taken with the help of Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, during his visit to the observatory on June 5, 2012 and released on the occasion of the new telescope’s inauguration in Naples on Dec. 6, 2012. Credit: ESO. Acknowledgement: VPHAS+ Consortium/Cambridge

The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile was officially inaugurated today (Dec. 6) in Naples, Italy.

While the Carina nebula has been photographed many times before, most telescopes can only observe a small part of it at once. The VST, designed for large surveys of the sky, has a very wide field of view, and was able to image almost all of Carina in a single photo.