The Great Carina Nebula is photographed above the Cerro Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Higher up in the sky of this telephoto panoramic image is the Southern Cross (constellation Crux), the Coalsack dark nebula, bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri, along the southern Milky Way band. At 2,635 metres (8,645 ft) from sea level, with its dark and transparent sky, Paranal is home to some of the world's leading telescopes. On top is the Very Large Telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is composed of four 8-metre telescopes.