La Silla Observatory

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La Silla Observatory

Organization

ESO

Coordinates

29°15′S, 70°44′W

Altitude

2400 m

Telescopes
NTT (3.5 m)	Built and operated by ESO
3.6 m	Built and operated by ESO
2.2 m	Built and operated by ESO
ESO 1.5 m	Built by ESO, now decommissioned
ESO 1 m	Built by ESO, now decommissioned
ESO 0.5 m	Built by ESO, now at the Observatorio UC in Santiago, Chile.
SEST 15 m	Built by ESO, now decommissioned
CAT 1.4 m	Built by ESO, now decommissioned
Schmidt 1 mm	Built by ESO, now decommissioned
GPO	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.