La Silla Observatory

Infobox Observatory
name = La Silla Observatory


caption =
organization = ESO
location =
coords = coord|29|15|S|70|44|W|
altitude = 2400 m
weather =
established =
closed =
website=

telescope1_name = NTT (3.5 m)
telescope1_type = Built and operated by ESO
telescope2_name =3.6 m
telescope2_type = Built and operated by ESO
telescope3_name = 2.2 m
telescope3_type = Built and operated by ESO
telescope4_name = ESO 1.5 m
telescope4_type = Built by ESO, now decommissioned
telescope5_name = ESO 1 m
telescope5_type = Built by ESO, now decommissioned
telescope6_name = ESO 0.5 m
telescope6_type = Built by ESO, now at the Observatorio UC in Santiago, Chile.
telescope7_name = DENIS 1 m
telescope7_type =
telescope8_name = MARLY 1 m (EROS project)
telescope8_type =
telescope9_name = Geneva 1.2 m
telescope9_type =
telescope10_name = Danish 1.5 m
telescope10_type =
telescope11_name = Danish 50 cm
telescope11_type =
telescope12_name = Dutch 90 cm
telescope12_type =
telescope13_name = SEST 15 m
telescope13_type = Built by ESO, now decommissioned
telescope14_name = Marseille 40 cm
telescope14_type =
telescope15_name = Bochum 61 cm
telescope15_type =
telescope16_name = CAT 1.4 m
telescope16_type = Built by ESO, now decommissioned
telescope17_name = IRIS
telescope17_type =
telescope18_name = Schmidt 1 mm
telescope18_type = Built by ESO, now decommissioned
telescope19_name = GPO
telescope19_type = Replaced by Marly 1 m

La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with eighteen telescopes. Nine of these telescopes were built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) organisation, and several of the others are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

La Silla is a 2400 m high mountain, bordering the southern extremity of the Atacama Desert in Chile. It is located about 160 km north of La Serena, 27 km south of Las Campanas Observatory, and 100 km north of Cerro Tololo Observatory.

Originally known as Cinchado, the mountain was renamed La Silla (the saddle) after its shape. It rises quite isolated and remote from any artificial light and dust sources (astronomy's worst enemies). La Silla was the first observatory in Chile used by ESO.

External links

* [http://www.ls.eso.org/index.html Official ESO - La Silla webpage]