Very Large Telescope (VLT) under construction at the European Southern Observatory's site at Cerro Paranal, Chile. The VLT will consist of four 8.2-metre telescopes side by side, which can work either individually or in combination. Together they provide the light-collecting power of a single 16-metre telescope, making the VLT the world's largest optical telescope. The VLT can be used to detect parts of the spectrum ranging from near-ultraviolet to infrared light of 25 nanometres wavelength. It is due to be completed soon after 2000. Photographed in 1997.